God's provision

'The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need.' (Psalm 23:1)

This week I have been experiencing the truth of this statement.

Last week I had to make some difficult decisions about going to South Africa or postponing the trip because I haven't raised all the money I will need to support myself for the full year yet. I prayed and thought and prayed some more and I still got the message from God to 'Go!'. I wrestled with this because I felt that I might be setting up not only myself, but others who might depend on me as well, for a fall if I went ahead. I felt like I was walking up to a cliff edge and God was asking me to jump off and trust that He would not let me fall. In my head I knew that He could do this but I was finding it hard to really believe, go ahead with making plans and sign myself up to 12 months in Cape Town. Gradually, God helped me to let go of my worries and fears and take that leap of faith. So I booked my flight for 8th January next year.

The next step was to work out where I am going to stay in Cape Town. Again, I was worrying about taking out a 12-month lease and kept delaying and putting off the decision - taking the easy way out of planning to stay with friends for a while and finding a 6-month lease and then taking things as they came. I knew that I was taking back all my doubts from God and trying to get back to the ground where I had more control again. But something made me check out an ad for a studio flat very close to the Living Hope campus. I think it was the date that it would be available (the day before I arrive in Cape Town) that I found pretty coincidental. I really didn't expect how God was working things out for me so well...

So, the amazing things about the flat:

1. It is so close to Living Hope and other friends.
2. It turns out the landlord attends King of Kings Baptist Church and is a supporter of Living Hope. He is also a primary school teacher - making contacts already for when I need to find a way to support myself!
3. I thought the rent would be just in my budget, but it turns out the exchange rate at the moment isn't the best for Rand and so it actually will be £50 under budget which means overall I have less money to raise than I thought!

God has blown me away by His goodness and faithfulness in this and I'd like to say I will never doubt Him again!

So, I am still learning to follow my Shepherd, and completely depend on Him to provide everything I need - even the bed and some other furniture I will need to live in the flat!!