A Place Where a Miracle is Necessary

When I was applying for the race, one of the most challenging things for me was deciding which route to apply for.

For starters, I have never even been out of the country, and I didn’t have a great concept of where I would even want to go. Picking a route of 11 countries seemed pretty daunting.

However my most pressing concern was deciding when to leave. There were two launch dates I knew I would be deciding on: January or June. I found myself having a reaction to the January date- “that’s so soon, that’s not enough time to raise over $18,000!”

As soon as I had that thought I was immediately convicted.

I mentioned in my last post that I was in a Priscilla Shirer study on Gideon. She had talked about our culture of comfort and, imitating a common Christian sentiment she raised her hands to heaven and said “Lord I want to see you work a miracle! (and in the same breath we say) Please don’t ever put me in a situation where a miracle would be necessary!”

In that moment, sitting in front of my computer on an overcast Thursday morning, I felt God calling me to step into a place in which a miracle would be necessary.

In Judges chapter 7, the Lord sends Gideon to fight the Midianites. But Gideon has with him 32,000 men and God says, “The people with you are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hand, lest Israel boast over me saying ‘my own hand has saved me’ ” (Judges 7:2). God tells Gideon to send men home until there are only 300 remaining. This way the victory over the Midianites would be unquestionably by the power of the Lord.

If I went on the July route I would be able to raise the funds “by my own hand.” There would be a very comfortable amount of time to prepare and find support. But the Lord doesn’t call us to be comfortable. God clearly called me to the January route and asked me to step into a place of complete trust and reliance on Him.

My first fundraising deadline is $5,000 by September 25th, just over a week from now. I find myself constantly praying “I believe, help my unbelief” (Mark 9:24), and I am constantly reminding myself that no challenge is too big for my God. Yesterday I received $500 from someone who I have never met. I was overcome with emotion for the kindness of strangers and for God’s provision. Every day He assures me that He is with me and that He will provide. I am so thankful to be walking in this season of faith and reliance on the Lord.

Please be in prayer for me as I walk with the Lord and trust Him to help me raise this money. Maybe God is asking you to step into a place that is perhaps a little uncomfortable and to take a step in financially supporting me. If you would like to be a part of this story please click the donate link above! Thank you so so much to those of you who have already donated! I have been blessed with a wonderful support group. God is doing great things.

Much Love,

-Hattie

P.S. If you’re curious- the way I choose where to go was by looking at a map and choosing the route with the most countries that were on the coast. I love the sea and since I’ve chosen my route the countries I choose have been coming up in conversation and in random social media posts and God has been faithful to let me know that I’m going exactly where I should be going. To say that I’m excited would be an understatement.