Risks in Faith: Where God Guides, God Provides

And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:19 (NIV)

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If God tells you to do something, he will give you the energy, talent, resources – whatever you need – to do it. Where God guides, he provides.

In 1979, I was finishing seminary in Texas when God said, “I want you to go to the Saddleback Valley and start a church.” There were two problems with that: I had never been a senior pastor, and I didn’t know anything about the Saddleback Valley; I’d never been there, and I didn’t know a single person there.

But my wife, Kay, and I decided to take a risk and launch out in faith. We loaded a U-Haul truck and moved with our four-month-old daughter to the Saddleback Valley.

We arrived during rush hour in January, 1980. I grew up in a town of fewer than 500 people, so when I saw the jam-packed freeway, I thought God had chosen the wrong guy.

But where God guides, God provides. We stopped at a real estate office and I met Don Dale. I said, “My name is Rick Warren and I’m here to start a new church. I need a place to live and I don’t have any money.”

Within two hours, Don found us a condo with the first month rent-free. Don also became the first member of Saddleback Church. Saddleback’s first service was in our home with just seven people – my family and Don’s family.

God began bringing others to join us in planting a church. And in April of 1980, 205 people streamed up the ramp at Laguna Hills High School for our first public worship service. It was amazing. I thought, “God! You have provided! This is the place we’re supposed to be.”

Kay and I believed in the dream and the vision that God gave us for the Saddleback Valley, and we followed that dream, even when it involved risks. If you’re going to live by faith, you’re going to have to take some risks. In some situations, you’ll wonder if God is going to come through. But keep believing – because where God guides, God provides.