photo : Reese and Rebekah Locken
“ Test me in this and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it ,” we contacted our friend and gave her our commitment .
Seven months later , our debt was paid , and we had more than $ 10,000 in our bank account . But God was not done with us yet . That same year , we felt the Lord ’ s call to join One Mission Society and move to Kiev , Ukraine , as missionaries . On the day I planned to quit my job , I received my pink slip . So , Rebekah and I made our preparations to begin fundraising , drew up a budget and planned to live off our
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savings until we moved .
By the end of the summer , we realized our finances were going to be tighter than we originally figured . The small unemployment benefit I received was spotty and unreliable , and we had only received about $ 1,000 at that point .
“ Thank you , God ,” we prayed . “ It ’ s clear You ’ ve provided for our needs with this thousand-dollar cushion !” Then , out of nowhere , we were slammed with one-time expenses : our gas tank needed to be replaced , our car insurance came due , and other little things came up , all totaling more than $ 1,700 .
We then received an unexpected response from the Lord . “ Give it away ,” we heard . “ I want you to give the money to your friend in Russia .”
This time , we didn ’ t hesitate . The Lord had done so much for us over the past year ; could we not trust Him for a minuscule $ 1,000 ? We sent the money straightaway . Two days later , we received $ 2,000 from unemployment . The government had missed several of our payments , so credited them to our account all at once . We praised God for His provision and for the chance to grow our faith . Not only did He bless us financially and spiritually , but He had also counted us worthy to participate in His work .
Despite our tight budget and our role as missionaries , God never stopped calling us to give . Each month , we gave away more than we could afford , and each month , we were left with a surplus .
In Luke 6:38 , Jesus promised , “ Give , and it will be given to you . A good measure , pressed down , shaken together and running over , will be poured into your lap . For with the measure you use , it will be measured to you .” The Lord ’ s promises are not idle . Rebekah and I are no super-apostles . We are ordinary people who doubt and fail . But our God is an amazing God . He has taught us that when we are faithful and follow His commands to give , our hands will never be empty .