Have you ever gone on a God Hunt? A God Hunt begins when you teach yourself to look for God’s hand at work in the everyday occurrences of your life. Here’s one of my personal God Hunt Sightings:
Through the extraordinary generosity of a friend who has been a long-time supporter of our ministry, we have paid off the last credit card debt that accumulated when we launched the Global Bag Project in 2008. We opened a home equity account to pay for purchasing portable camera equipment that works best in developing countries so that we could record the stories of the bag-makers. The $30,000 loan would also enable us to capitalize the start up of this idea to help women lift themselves from beneath the poverty line.
Great ideas being what they always are—more difficult than originally imagined—we weren’t able to do much more than keep up with the interest payments.
However, this friend’s gift, divided half between a 2012 donation and then half at the beginning of this year, enabled us to pay off all credit card debt, finish off the home equity loan, and pay back a small loan given to us by a ministry that seeks to help new businesses that specialize in micro-enterprise ventures, which is the nature of the Global Bag Project.
I can’t think of a more eloquent example of grace than this kind of donation given so freely and so cheerfully. Simply, God has paid off our debt. He and His Son agreed that an ultimate sacrifice would be made so that we would no longer have interest payments to make, and that we would also owe no more money. Sometimes I get used to this story of redemption, but being in ministry all my adult life, where we have been dependent for our very living on the generous offerings of not only friends but strangers, reminds me, quite frequently, of the joy, the exuberance, the wonder of having my debts paid.
When I called my friend to thank her for this huge gift, she said, “Well, God has been very generous to me. I also want to be generous to others.”
In 2 Corinthians 8:7 it says, “But just as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for us—see that you also excel in this grace of giving.” Giving, on whatever level, is nothing more than understanding that God has been generous to us all—He has forgiven our debt—and we need to be generous to others. Dollar debt, forgiven, is an incredible metaphor for this unbelievable spiritual transaction.
I spy God!
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Award-winning author Karen Mains has long had an interest in spiritual formation and the obedient Christian walk. She has written about the God Hunt in her book by the same name, The God Hunt: The Delightful Chase and the Wonder of Being Found. A hardback copy can be ordered from Mainstay Ministries for $10.00 plus $4.95 shipping and handling. Contact Karen at info@mainstayministries.org and she will be happy to autograph a copy for you.
Karen continues to write content for her Christian blog, “Thoughts-by-Karen-Mains.” In so doing, she desires to touch the lives of Christian women and men and help them find ways to walk closer with the Lord Jesus Christ. In addition, through silent retreats, spiritual teaching, women’s retreats, Christian vacation opportunities, and other ministry activities, Karen helps each Christian woman and man receive vital spiritual food.
Through her Hungry Souls ministry, Karen serves as a spiritual coach to many Christian women and men, and teaches a mentor-writing class. And, through the Global Bag Project, she is working to develop a network of African women who sew exquisite cloth reusable shopping bags, Africa bags. This micro-finance women opportunity helps provide a much-needed sustainable income for struggling African families. For more information on this critically important project, please click here.
For decades, Karen and her husband, David, have served God through religious communications—radio, television, and print publication. They are the co-authors of the Kingdom Tales Trilogy: Tales of the Kingdom, Tales of the Resistance, and Tales of the Restoration. To find many valuable resources for pastors and congregations at the Mainstay Ministries main website, please click here.
Likewise, pastors will find special resources to help them prepare effective, life-transforming Sunday sermons by visiting David Mains’ website by clicking here.
