Seeking the KINGDOM in Paris!

Hey friends and family! Bonjour from Paris yet again! Whew, it would be a novel f I was to write in words all the incredible things God has done and revealed to me in the past months. So instead, I’ll just share a piece of God’s character that has really been high lighted and bold ink penned to me in the past couple of weeks. It’s about Jesus’ promise to us.

Matthew 6:31-33 “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.  But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”

If I wrote up a list of all the things I have prayed and asked God for practical things to give me, which are more then the patience I have to count, in the past 3 months you would laugh at me. But then again if I rewrote the exact same list and told you that God had given me EVER SINGLE THING you wouldn’t be laughing.

To just go ahead and start with a major request I had for the Lord, I’ll tell you a story. For the Discipleship Training School Outreach to South East Asia that I’m staffing we needed to raise over 7,000euors in just a couple days. So I asked God, is there anything that I need to do that is stopping the flow. He challenged me with a simple thing, empty out my bank account and put all I have towards outreach. I did, and within a couple of days all the money for outreach flowed in so naturally, without any force, any tears, or any worries. I told my mom about God’s challenge and how I was on my last few dollars for food money, and she offered to give me $50. I confidently told her not to worry about it; my Dad in heaven takes care of me.

Two weeks past and the weekend came; I have to pay for all my food over the weekend and for my breakfast foods for the week. I had about a euro fifty to my name, which definitely could not last me for two days. I felt silly and naïve for telling my mom I didn’t need her help, was I just being stubborn and unrealistically confident?  I prayed and asked God about what I should do, should I go back and ask my mom for money?

That night this amazing French woman came up to me and gave me a French “baiser”(kiss) on the cheek and slipped cash in my hand. It was exactly 50euors. I cried, my heavenly Dad is the BEST. Seriously I call upon Him and He provides everything I need! I even was able to buy a new pair of socks!

Jesus says, “Seek first the KINGDOM OF GOD…and ALL these things shall be added to you.” Not just some things, EVERY THING. I laugh at my child like reliance on Him, but to enter the Kingdom we have to come with a Child like Spirit, and trust in the Father for every little thing.

Prayer Points:

*Outreach is 3 weeks away, lots of preparation and lack of sleep up ahead. Pray for motivation and productiveness and grace with sleeping habits!

*For our last weeks in Paris to be impactful on the spiritual and physical world. We have local outreach day on Saturday and it will be our last week of that. Pray that God really reveals Himself to the people we have been getting to know and connects them with other believers.

Sincerely, 

                Eleanor