February Fast 3: Consider the Birds of the Air

In the miraculous feeding of the 5,000, we often neglect the sacrifice made by the boy who offered his bread and fish. We look at his gift in anticipation of the miracle. But what about the moment just before the miracle? He had little, but what he did have he gave freely. He didn’t give expecting Jesus to multiply his lunch into a banquet. He had every expectation of eating less when he gave away his food. Yet he resigned himself to hunger, choosing obedience over a full stomach.

A budget can be a dangerous thing. It is wise to plan and prudent to prepare for anticipated expenses, but this month taught me the foolishness of putting total trust in good budgeting. For the first week my budgeting bordered on obsession. Every day I would make projections and, based on my projections, calculate how much I could afford to spend on food that day. But, no sooner was every franc mentally accounted for than some incident blew my plan to smithereens.

There were some things in my budget that were fixed, and others could fluctuate. I knew I would spend about 4,000 on phone cards, so that was mentally accounted for. I had three village excursions planned, which I knew would demand about 15,000 in gas and oil for the motorcycle. I planned on using my bicycle for city commutes, cutting down on gas expenses. So in my mind I allotted 20,000 CFA for food, which broke down to around 700 CFA per day (roughly $1.40). That budget lasted less than 24 hours.

Riding on my bicycle to the Teague’s I noticed my front tire go flat. I pulled over at the nearest tire repair shop, expecting to pay around $0.50 for a patch. Unfortunately, it wasn’t just a puncture in the tube. The air valve had been ripped off, mortally wounding the tube. That meant 2,000 CFA for a new tube and a change to my per diem. I was knocked down to 640 CFA per day on food (roughly $1.25).

On the 6^th day of my experiment I had my first village voyage. I rode out to meet a group of men in Chileda who still had questions about Jesus following my last visit. After teaching on Jesus healing the paralytic in Mark 2 and answering questions, they implored me to return later that week. I had not planned to make another trip till the next month, but I felt I needed to respond to their request. Mentally I took another 3,000 CFA from my food budget, reducing my per diem to 530 CFA (roughly $1.06)

This mental accounting continued until week two. At this time I had started counting unforeseen expenses in terms of missed meals. Spending an extra 200 CFA meant missing a breakfast or lunch. Midway through my second week I was walking to buy a plate of rice and beans when I ran into my friend, Allie. I could tell by the way he greeted me that something was troubling him. Walking with me to the restaurant he started confiding his woes and asking for counsel. I felt compelled to invite him to eat with me. I knew full well Allie’s full stomach meant an empty stomach later that week. I decided to trust God, sure that I was following his prodding.

Never has my obedience to God’s direction been so immediately rewarded. After eating with Allie I returned to my apartment. On my way I ran into my friend Issoufou. He was carrying a sack of groceries and said, “Hey stop by the dorm tomorrow afternoon. I’m going to fix lunch and want you to come join me.” Just like that the hole in my meal schedule was filled. It was even more remarkable because, until that day, Issoufou had never invited me to share a meal.

I know this is a simple example of the Lord’s provision. But in February I learned just how much generosity is magnified when the means are minimized. In January, offering a friend a plate of rice and beans would have been no sacrifice at all. In February it was a leap of faith. In January, a lunch invitation would have been a nice gesture. In February it was salvation.

After that lunch invitation, the mental budgeting did not completely stop. I still made per diem calculations to keep from overspending. However, I stopped trusting in my budget to get me to the month’s end without going into the red. I trusted God to provide. This is an easy task when there is money in the bank and groceries in the fridge. It becomes a serious exercise when money runs out and the pantry is empty. Can God provide? Will he catch me when I fall? It is only by leaving behind our parachutes and taking away our safety nets that we will ever know for sure.