Learning to Walk by Faith

“For we walk by faith and not by sight” 2 Cor 5:7

Over the past four weeks, we gave witness to the Lord’s grace in our life in three Marriage Encounter weekends in BLD Rockland, BLD Trenton and BLD Charlotte. Last weekend, we participated in a reconciliation retreat in one of our communities. While we are physically tired, we have remained spiritually buoyant, for the Lord has ministered to us in our service as much as He ministered to those whom we served.

The marvel of seeing these three communities being strengthened or formed by the Lord through the selfless and generous support of fellow servants from sister communities reminded us of BLD Newark’s initial evangelization efforts when it did not have the people nor financial resources it now has to undertake the Spirit's work. Early on, we may have had an abundance of love and zeal, but we had little financial resources and little faith. Those were the times when the Lord first taught us to walk by faith and not by sight.

We recall that when the ME1 class firmed up its decision to sponsor ME2, we were not sure where we were going to get the $5,000 in airfare cost to bring the two presenting couples and priest from Manila to New Jersey. The class dedicated their love offerings during monthly ME reunions for the sponsorship. However, we could not use the love offerings from our weekly worship, as these were used to pay for venue and other community operating expenses. After 5 months of reunions, we intensified our prayers, for our class funds could only pay for the airfare of one couple and the priest. In no time, the Lord sent two sister districts to the rescue, each giving $1,000. All we needed to do was to ask in faith, and the Lord took care of the rest.

God’s steadfast love was again manifested when we sponsored LSS 2. We still had no local sharers at that time. (It was not until ME 5 that we had our first sharers.) This time, the LSS expenses could have been paid for with community funds, but the community treasury simply did not have enough to defray the cost of flying the LSS sharers and priest from Manila, plus the costs of the venue rental and the participants' meals. Who else can we turn to for our needs but the Lord? Again, He delivered through the generosity of sister districts who gave from their treasures and talents.

Here’s another example of God’s faithful love. A few months after the ME1 class was covenanted in 1994, the Lord through the Council of Servant Leaders (CSL) in Manila directed Newark to form a BLD community in Reno. Most of us were crying in anxiety during the discernment. On the basis of logic, our fears were not unfounded. We were “fast-tracked” in our formation; we were barely starting in our discipleship walk. No one among us, except for our Bi-Cords Donnie/Ningning and Roger/Irma, had any experience in forming and “administering” new communities. There was no BLD manual which we could refer to that explained how to administer or develop a new community. Moreover, Reno was 3,000 miles away from us! We did not know how we could commit time and resources to form and nurture this far-flung new community when our very own was just in its “toddler” years and thus in itself needed nurturing. How could we even think that we could pay for the cost of sending outreach shepherds and teachers to Reno every month?

How can we not have faith in God whose faithfulness extends to the heavens? When Scripture and the prophetic word confirmed the CSL direction, we gave the Lord our tearful yes, and that was enough for Him. He did all the rest. He poured out His love into our hearts through the Holy Spirit whom He has given us. In early 1995, a plane load of BLD Newark disciples descended into Reno to serve in their ME1 weekend. Our faithful God was with us when Reno was formed and developed. He has been with us in all the new communities that He directed us to form and develop later on: Seattle, Long Island, Albany, Bay Area/San Francisco, Los Angeles, Washington DC, Trenton, Rockland, Phoenix. And early this month, BLD Charlotte!

The stories of God’s faithfulness do not end here. There are many, many more stories of God’s faithful love that have to be told to generations after generations of BLD families and communities. This is just the beginning. We will not stop proclaiming His love that never ends! Neither should you.

"Amen, I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you." Mt 17:20