I was going to write a blog about something else tonight. So much for my previous plans. This is more important, infinitely more valuable, and certainly praiseworthy. Some would consider it a miracle. God continues, as He has been doing from the beginning of this feeding ministry, to provide all that is needed for the feeding. God loves His people!
Let me explain. For most of us, the task of delivering 100 to 150 hot meals every Thursday evening would seem to be a daunting task. How would you cook this many meals in a small apartment kitchen? Is it even possible? (Yes, with God’s protection and supernatural supervision. He does, afterall, control time! ). Where would you store the perishable food- in your combo refrigerator / freezer? (Yes, we just make sure that it is empty by Wednesday, which is not a problem 
How would you get that many cans of soda cold? (Ice the cans down in the bathtub, of course How does the food stay hot when it is delivered over a two hour period? ( God keeps it hot! It is, after all, a meal from Him!) I assume that most of you who are reading this are friends, so you also know that the cooking, packaging, and delivery of this many meals from our apartment by two people, (Monica and I), that are untrained in the culinary arts and prone to space exploration, constitutes a miracle.
Yes, we do have help in cooking, packaging, and delivering meals these days. We do not schedule people to help because God provides them. We spend no time calling to get “volunteers”. People show up at the door to help. Yes, they just show up. Our Lord provides them! Lately, we have had a small but hearty team of friends that serve consistantly in this ministry. We praise God, for this is an answered prayer- ministering with friends.
The “most asked” question is “How do you do it?” More appropriately translated, the question really is “How do you pay for it?” The answer is that we don’t.Yes, it is true that there are some pretty good expenses be paid. This is God’s ministry and He provides the resources. This week was the same as it usually is, we did not have any guarantees of where the food for the feeding was coming from. We knew that it was not going to come from my paycheck:) (Haven’t had one of those since April). We knew that there was not enough food in the fridge or cupboards. Here is what happened. On Monday night we had a delivery of freshly baked Panera bread, bagels, and desserts. A ministry in Republic began providing this weekly blessing about a month ago….. they literally called one night and asked if we wanted it! On Wednesday, a local house church provided our family with a blessing to help in meeting our needs….. Thank you! This morning at 11:00 Monica visited a local ministry that recently offered to share their surplus of food, and they provided us with some excellent broccoli and cheese soup! So, there was our meal and another example of God’s economy, an example of God’s provision, and continued confirmation that He wants to show His love to the needy here in Branson. Did I mention that the amount of food provided was more than enough to feed over a hundred people?
In fact, a few weeks ago God’s provision was so great that we were able to send 70 loaves of premium grocery store bread and about 400 hot dogs to a homeless shelter in Springfield! Again, God’s economy at work!
So what happen’s when there is no food? Yes, this has happened a few times. Does it mean that God doesn’t want to show His love for the needy? No, not at all ! When there is no food, we don’t have a feeding. To be honest, the first time that this happened was traumatic. Thursday came, no food. We waited…. and waited…. and waited, expecting a miraculous provision of food. It didn’t happen. There were a few tears. Monica left the apartment and went door to door at the hotel where we were to be delivering that night and apologized, letting them know that there would be no food that week. In her journey, she met a man who has since come to know the Lord and also has become a good friend. There is more to that story, but the important message here is that God had a plan for that night…. it just didn’t include food.
On another Thursday night later in the year, again there was no food. This time, we called and cancelled the feeding at the hotels, then went about our business. No tears this time. At 5:30 p.m., when we would have normally been in the heat of packaging and delivering, the phone rang. It was a brother who had decided it was time to go into detox. We had been praying for this brother for months, asking God to set this man free from his addiction to prescription drugs. The rest of the evening was spent getting him situated in a treatment center, praying with him, and praising God for his return and his freedom. Again, God had a plan for that evening, it just didn’t include food!
Many weeks this past year we did not have a car. Yes, God provided the transportation for the feeding each time! Looking back, it is both amazing and comforting to know that God’s ministry doesn’t depend upon our material wealth. We have none! Makes it real easy to see His glory! One particular Thursday we had no transportation, no way to get to the bank, buy the groceries, or buy the packaging. All of our resources were tapped. At 3:00 p.m. we got a call from a couple that wanted to help ….. we were able to deliver meals that night! I am convinced that God made time stand still that day, because otherwise there simply would not have been enough time to make this feeding happen! God is faithful in providing the resources! It is His wealth that we rely upon, not ours.
One more example of His provision. One day a couple came by with a gift for us. It was a set of very large pots. Seems as if they noticed (and were probably amused by) the small pots that we were using. What we did not know at that time, however, was that the number of people that we would be feeding the next week was about to increase significantly! Again, God does provide!
Supernatural provision from God happens regularly. So regularly, in fact, that Monica and I have finally settled into “not worrying” about where the food will come from for the Thursday feeding. And, we are no longer concerned if there is no food for a Thursday night feeding. God has given us the experiences of this past year to build our faith in Him, to show His glory, and to confirm His love and His desire to set the captives free.
Good job.
That’s amazing!