By Floyd McClung

Trusting God to meet our daily needs is not about money, but hearing and obeying God. Abraham was the father of faith, but he was also a wealthy man. He owned thousands of sheep and camels. Yet, when the Lord spoke to Abraham, he believed God and obeyed Him (Genesis 12:1-3). Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of the Lord (Romans 10:17).

When God calls us to serve Him, He promises to supply all our needs. His part is to supply, our part is to trust and obey Him. We can express our faith in God in many ways to meet our needs: we can work, serve as tentmakers, develop an incoming producing ministry, share our financial needs with others, send out prayer letters, work part time, etc. The manner in which we trust God to meet our needs may vary. What is crucial is that we hear and obey the voice of God.

If God calls us to “live by faith” we can share our needs or we can trust God to tell others our needs. Both our silence and our speaking to others about our needs can be acts of faith, if they are done in obedience to the Lord. The Lord has led His people in many different ways to trust Him for their financial needs. Some of have had no freedom to speak to people about bills, budgets, airplane tickets, rent, outreach expenses, etc., while others have met with friends and family members to ask for their support, sent out prayer letters, and asked their home church to support them.

There is a danger if one is called to live by faith of not acknowledging that we actually “live by fellowship,” i.e., that God uses people to meet our needs. God can bust this form of pride by asking us to go to others in humility and share our financial needs with them. Not only does God deal with our pride in this way, He also shows us that we need to be humble and open about our needs. There is no virtue in being silent when God leads a person to speak up. We must not forget that the basis of faith is simple, childlike obedience: if God says to share our needs with others, then we must obey him or face the consequences. Not to obey God in this regard is to rob others of the joy of giving and to deny God the opportunity to provide for us. It also robs us of the finances we need to obey God.

“Living by fellowship” means receiving from others. Allowing others to meet our needs requires humility. It builds unity. It gives people a chance to be part of our lives. It provides accountability to others in a natural, relational manner. When your friends give to you, they expect to hear back from you. They want to know how you are doing. The Bible says, “…to whom much is given, much is required…” (Luke 12:48). Being a receiver deals with our independence. By being in a position of dependence upon others to help meet our needs, we can no longer go it alone, making our own decisions without consultation or reference to what others think or feel.

This process also involves many people in creating a support base for the work we do for God, thus widening the base of financial provision to include many people. This means Christian workers can carry on their work if one of two churches or supporters stop giving to them, or if the economy goes into a downturn.

The outworking of these and other principles of faith in the life of a Christian worker is very important. It is an essential process of character development. Obviously, faith like Abraham’s is not born in a day, but is the result of perseverance and passing the tests God puts us through. Faith grows as we obey God.

Principles of Faith and Finances

Below is a list of the principles of faith and finances I believe in and have proven to be true and life giving through the years:

1. It is each individual’s and each family’s privilege and responsibility to trust God for their needs.

2. Faith is based on hearing and obeying God.

3. As we step out in faith to trust God for our needs, it is important that we do what we can do practically. If we do the possible, God will do the impossible.

4. Where God guides, He provides. His provision is a confirmation of His will.

5. We are called to live “by faith” and “by fellowship.”

6. We can never out-give God. He loves generosity.

7. We are to be accountable to those who give to us. Good record keeping and open financial books are vital to build confidence in those who support our work. Every Christian organization should have their books audited annually.

8. God uses money, or the lack of it, to speak to us, both in confirming guidance, but also in dealing with our character. There is nothing like having the bank account dry up to put us on our knees.

9. God does not want His people in debt to others.

10. God’s word instructs believers to tithe, give to the poor, save and provide for “their children’s children.”

11. There are five categories of financial “supply” mentioned in the Scriptures:

• earning wages through work
• receiving alms if one is destitute
• miraculous supply, such as when God fed Elijah by a raven in the wilderness
• receiving from other believers so missionaries and pastors can serve the church and reach the lost
• managing resources that God gives us stewardship over, e.g., inheritances, pensions, skills to create wealth, etc.

12. When we hear from God and pray according to His will, we are responding to God’s invitation to partner with Him to release finances. James calls this the prayer of faith (James 5:15).

Practical Application of the Principles of Faith and Finances

1. Each person is responsible to discern God’s will for how they are to trust him for their finances.

2. Christian workers should work closely with their sending church to confirm God’s calling on their lives and to develop a budget for their monthly needs.

3. “Support raising” takes much time and effort. It is not something to be tried casually. God is not on trial in the support raising process. It typically takes many months of developing presentation tools, meeting with people one on one and in small groups, speaking in churches, meeting with missions committee’s, building a prayer letter list, meeting new people, developing a “sending team,” building a web site, and sending out newsletters.

4. Support raising is a friend raising process.

5. Christian workers are accountable to their local church and their supporters for how they manage their finances.

6. I recommend that churches do not fully support their missionaries. In addition to the support of the sending church, I think it is wise for that a person have a group of people who are linked to them directly through prayer and personal giving. By being required to raise 50% or more of their monthly support, a Christian worker has the opportunity to show initiative and perseverance in developing a team of people who will stand with them financially. This also provides a broad base of support in case the church is not able to continue full support.

A spirit of radical faith must be in the hearts of those who serve God. Faith in God for the impossible is essential if we are to fulfill the Great Commission. Nothing less than bold, sacrificial faith will do if we are see church planting movements raised up in the most difficult places of the earth. There are still 3,000 people groups that have never heard the gospel. There are thousands of languages that have never been heard in heaven. Jesus waits to receive the reward of His suffering from those He died to redeem. God has blessed us and caused His face to smile upon us so that all nations will be glad and rejoice in Him.