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My God is…not going to forsake me Hebrews 13:5

10 May

Hebrews 13:5 – Keep your lives free from the love of money, and be content with what you have; for he has ford-escort-5-9-13said, “I will never leave you or forsake you.”

Keep your lives free from the love of money

This phrase is so counter to our culture. We are told by every commercial and ever advertisement that we want more. We see what our neighbors have, and we are tempted to go out and get something just as nice or better. We don’t want to be left out. We don’t want to miss something that might make us happy. As humans we’re always searching for something to fill a void inside. But we will never be able to fill that void, the yearning for something more on our own. We need Christ.

Each of us has our own things that make us crave for more. Mine is food. I’m sure there are others, but that’s my main one. When I feel empty in side, I’m tempted to eat. I want to fill the void. Others may use alcohol, shopping, people or sex to try to make that empty feeling go away. But there is truly only one thing that fill that void – Jesus Christ. With Jesus Christ, we can find satisfaction and peace that surpasses all human understanding. Here’s something to try, ask someone you know who has a lot of money, works all the time and always has the new gadget, what they need to be happy. They may very likely give you a thing or object that they feel will fill that need. Or maybe they’ll say the name of a person. And that’s very nice, isn’t it? But the truth is other people are going to fail you. You’ll love them, and they may not always treat you well. We can’t rely on others to be the source of our contentment.

Be content with what you have

Yesterday my husband called and told me that our old escort had bitten the dust. We had resurrected this car once before with a “new’ used engine. Now that engine had also failed. We knew we had to let go of that car. It was going nowhere. We sold it to the junk yard, they towed it away as we lamented the passing of a car that has traveled with us for 15 years. They boys were brought home from the hospital in that car. It was a sad day. Now we’re left with one car that is 19 years old. I don’t know how much longer that one will last. But it doesn’t look good.

My mom and dad are kindly bringing us a car in September, but between now and then we need another car. Here’s where I need to be content. It’s hard to go to a car lot and not wish you could have all the bells and whistles. I start to make a list of what I really want.

  • OnStar System
  • Center console with power outlet
  • Touch Screen controls
  • Good sound system (to play music from my iPhone)
  • GPS Navigation System
  • Air Conditioning
  • Power Windows etc
  • It has to be cute too!

Ok, that’s the short list, but it gives you an idea that my warped, commercial influenced mind is more interested in what the car can do for me than how it drives. The struggle will now become balancing what we need (good gas mileage, reliable, etc) with what I want (haven’t even considered what my husband wants yet).

I will never leave you or forsake you

The truth is, I don’t need to worry about all those features. I don’t need to feel I got ripped off if I don’t get exactly what I want. I know that the Lord is with me in everything I do. He will not leave me or forsake me. I can trust Him with everything that’s going on in my life. I know that the Lord will provide us with a car. It may not be my dream car, but we’ll have something that works decently and gets us through to September (or longer).

Definition of FORSAKE 

: to renounce or turn away from entirely

God will not turn away from me. Even though my problems may seem small or insignificant, and I might doubt that the Lord is interested in my car woes, the truth is He won’t turn away from me. I can trust Him with the big things as well as the small things. So as we go out and look at cars and decide which car is going to be best for us, whether it be a new car, used or no car at all, I trust that the Lord can use this all for His glory. He’s got my back and we’re going to trust Him every step of the way (I hope). May the Lord help us keep our focus on Him.

Are you content?

 
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Posted by on May 10, 2013 in Hebrews, My God is not going to forsake me

 

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My God is…feeding Luke 12:23-25

04 Mar

Luke 12:23-25 – For life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. Consider the ravens: They do not girl-hand-on-stomachsow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life?

For life is more than food, and the body more than clothes.

I don’t know about you, but I like my food and my clothes. I am not happy when I don’t have the right food or the right clothes. How many of us are working to put food on the table and clothes on our children’s backs. We feel it is our responsibility as parents and spouses to provide and contribute to our households. And it is, but sometimes that desire to provide moves our focus onto money, things and food and off of the most important thing in our lives…Jesus Christ.

We worry.

The devil not only wants us to put our trust in money, position and food, but he will be satisfied to make us worry about them. To try to get us not to trust God for all our needs. The devil wants us to doubt that the Lord will actually provide actual money when we need it. He wants us to think that we can’t trust the Lord with our bills, bodies or our clothing.

Provided for

Many times throughout my life, my parents, who are very faithful followers of the Lord have found themselves in situations where we didn’t know how we were going to pay for things. The Lord gave my mother amazing shopping skills, a keen perception for finding ways to make money stretch, but even those gifts were not always enough. Sometimes there just wasn’t any money for what we needed. But then there would be. The one time I remember most clearly (though I’m quite sure I have vague memories of more) was when we were feeling particularly in a bind, because of this bill or that and in the mail we received a check from a company my mom had worked for a year or more before. She had no idea that there was any money out there, but the Lord provided it the moment we needed it.

Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them.

This part of the verse is very interesting to me. And truth be told this may get some of your backs up. I think we often do too much. Maybe this is wishful thinking from a slightly lazy woman. I think sometimes the Lord would prefer that we spent our days focused on Him and less focused on work, cleaning our cars or our house, or even paying the bills. I know those things in themselves are not bad things, but I believe that the Lord can provide for us even when we aren’t doing “enough” to get by in life. I know that this year my husband and I have reduced our income by over $10,000. But by the grace of God, we have barely noticed (at least beyond the first few months). We have been blessed by support of our family and friends, not always monetarily (though my parent’s are very generous with their help), but with their time and talents as well. God may not always provide in the way we want or the way we expect, but we have what we need if we allow the Lord to reveal it to us.

Are you content with what the Lord provides? 

Sometimes it is more about being content with what He provides than whether or not He provided. When we lived in St. Louis, I thought to myself, maybe I should join a gym, then I’m sure I would be motivated to work out. We didn’t have the money for a gym membership (especially when my enthusiasm waxes and wains so). I began to think about how the Lord provides for my every need. I thought to myself, what am I missing. God wants me to be fit, I believe. So how has he provided what I need. At the time we lived on the back of a large park with wonderful walking trails. In our apartment complex there was a small gym (yep – already had one at my disposal). In my own home there were two flights of stairs, numerous workout tapes and plenty of opportunity to work out. I didn’t like those options as much as going to a shiny gym with lots of classes, but truth was, I had everything I needed within walking distance of my couch (which is where I had spent most of my time).

How much more valuable you are than birds!

You are the Lord’s greatest possession. He loves you so much. 1 Peter 2:8-10 says, “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God;once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.” He loved us so much He sent His son to die for us that we might live eternally with Him in Heaven. If He has such amazing plans for you in Heaven, why would he want you to be unprovided for here on earth? He doesn’t.

He has provided all you need. 

Outside of our physical needs, God has provided all we need for eternity. He has provided a way for us to spend eternity with Him. He has given His life so we may be forgiven. Our past is forgotten, and only our future with the Lord is in effect. We have hope, peace and a future. When we believe that Jesus, Son of God, died and rose again to save us from our sins, we have all we need. Our future is secure.

Do you have what you need?

 
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Posted by on March 4, 2013 in God is My Portion, God is my Provider, Luke, My God is feeding

 

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