2007-09-14
Good Morning Dear Ones,
In discussing MT 6: 24-34, Christ's words on God's provision of our basic needs, I was led to cite PS 145: 8-9, "You are merciful, Lord! You are kind and patient and always loving. You are good to everyone, and You take care of all Your creation." Since this is in the book of Psalms written long before Christ's earthly ministry, one has to understand that this concept of God's willingness to provide for His children is nothing new. Our Lord's grace really is sufficient. The problem is getting all of us to believe it. God knows our every need and will supply it. Once again I am led to cite PHIL 4: 19, "And with all His abundant wealth through Christ Jesus, my God will supply all your needs." Our omniscient God knows the difference between needs and wants. The question is: Do we have the discernment to know this for our lives too?
There are always fair and just ground rules for us to follow. The very first one is being humble, i.e. willing to submit to God's ultimate wisdom and sovereignty, willing to make our love for Him both sacrificial and reverential. We've already been told that God is the Source of all good on this earth. PS 85: 12-13, "Yes, the Lord will give what is good; and our land will yield its increase. Righteousness shall go before Him, and shall make His footsteps our pathway." PS 16: 2, "I said to the Lord, 'You are my Lord. Every good thing I have comes fro You." Our Father has no evil in Him. Nothing He gives us or does in interacting with us is anything but righteous, just, compassionate, and patient. The words of PS 81: 10 demand to be written here. "I, the Lord, am your God, Who brought you out of Egypt. Open your mouth, and I will feed you." While many of you aren't genetically Jewish, being Gentiles doesn't exclude you from these words. RO 11: 16-24, the metaphor of the olive tree, makes it clear that all believers are part of the family of God, be they Jew, Gentile, male, female, etc. [GA 3: 28-29]. PS 37: 11 gives a succinct statement of the truth, one that gives us a window in to the love that our God has for us. "But all who humble themselves before the Lord shall be given every blessing, and shall have wonderful peace." That is most certainly not a picture of God leaving believers hungering for their basic needs-food, clothing, shelter, transportation.
Still, there is this problem of defining in our own minds the difference between needs and wants. We can want some of what we need, and to get those things, we may have to make some lifestyle changes. Therein, we find human resistance to God's demands. HE 4: 16 opens the way for us to gain God's wisdom on what are needs and what are wants. "Let us boldly approach the throne of our gracious God where we may receive mercy and His grace to find timely help." God loves us enough to keep the "prayer pipeline" open 24/7. This doesn't guarantee that we will receive the answer from Him we want or that it will come at a time we want. But that kind of direction does come. My own life's experience speaks eloquently for that. While having to give up certain creature comforts that we enjoyed before, the last almost ten years have proven that God really does provide for our needs. We must also remember that God has supplied our greatest need of all-forgiveness, redemption, and the gift of His very own Spirit! While we were His enemies, sinners to the max, He gave us His only begotten Son on the cross and the faith we have in Christ, so that we could be saved. RO 8: 31-32, "In view of this [that God will share His glory with us] what can we say? If God is for us, who can be against us? Certainly not God, Who did not even keep back His own Son but offered Him for us all! He gave us His Son-will He not freely give us all things?" Moreover, we must remember that He has made us His friends! [RO 5: 9-11].
Each of us must work directly with God in understanding His will in the matter of whether something is a need or a want. The ground rules of humility, reverence, and having a heart open to His decisions must stand. I know there are plenty of times when God's answer doesn't jive with our desire, but there is never a time when God's decision isn't in our best eternal interests. The example of what He did in the lives of Pastor Bruce and Darlene Wilkinson's helps us to see. Pastor Bruce had a huge and very effective ministry in Atlanta at the time I lived there. And yet, this life of comfort in service didn't continue to be God's will for him. Pastor Bruce became burned out, and he sought the help of a friend in CA who was also a pastor, one who specializes in helping others with this problem. I relate well to this story even though I'm not a pastor, because the same thing happened to me just before it did to him. Something was missing in Pastor Bruce's life, and something was missing in mine. Strangely, it was different forms of the same problem for us both. We knew how to be God's servants, but didn't know how to be God's friends! In the case of the Wilkinsons, they gave over this huge Atlanta ministry to another pastor after visiting Johannesburg, South Africa on a vacation and seeing the numbers of street children, begging for food, having nowhere to live, and getting no education. They ended up moving to South Africa and today have a very successful ministry which gets these children off the streets, housed, fed, and educated. In my case, I went from having no prayer life in GA to living here in MN doing the ministry I have now, a big part of which is intercessory prayer. I have been placed in a congregation where others, by their example, are training me how to be a better, more faithful friend of God-not just His servant. Despite our personal financial woes, God has given my sweet husband, Peter, the willingness to be entirely supportive of my ministry, even through I'm not paid in money. [I am paid well in things that will transcend the grave]. The overall lesson here for us all is that God does provide for our needs; we don't have to worry about that. He will see to our physical, intellectual, emotional, and spiritual needs-if we will only let Him.
PRAYER: O Lord, our need to submit to You is so essential. You are a loving and generous God, One Who always sees to our every basic need. This does not mean that we don't have to work to make a living, but it does mean that we must not keep ourselves in a state of panic, greed, and inattention to Your will. We come before Your mighty throne to acknowledge Your generosity, goodness, and provision. PS 37: 16-17 helps to reveal these things. "The little that a good man owns is worth more than the wealth of all the wicked, because the Lord will take away the strength of the wicked, but protect those who are good." How can we miss the ultimate justice in this? Dearest Abba, You instruct us to leave the judgment of individuals up to our Lord Jesus. We submit to the wisdom of this and Your authority. PS 71: 5-6, "Sovereign Lord, I put my hope in You; I have trusted in You since I was young. I have relied on You all my life; You have protected me since the day I was born. I will always praise You." PS 31: 5, "I place myself in Your care. You will save me, Lord; You are a faithful God." We have no right to question Your deep and abiding interest in every detail of our lives, our needs and wants included. PS 37: 23-24, "The steps of the godly are directed by the Lord. He delights in every detail of their lives. Though they stumble, they will not fall, for the Lord holds them by the hand." We offer You our love, thanks, and praise, Dear Father, in the mighty and loving name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Next week, I'm led to continue writing about mammon, this time on the matter of setting godly priorities in acquiring and managing it. In doing this, I am reminded repeatedly of the importance of returning often to God's word. It is like a cleansing shower after being hot and dirty from a hard day's work. PS 119: 93, "I will never forget Thy precepts: for with them Thou hast quickened me." PS 36: 9, "For with You is the fountain of life; in Your light we see light." I know that God wants us to be teachable. PS 37: 30-31, "A good man's words are wise, and he is always fair. He keeps the law of His God in his heart and never departs from it." IS 50: 4, "The Sovereign Lord has taught me what to say, so I can strengthen the weary. Every morning He makes me eager to hear what He is going to teach me." God will lead us to some tough decisions about acquiring mammon and about prioritizing. It is here where the "faith rubber" meets the road. It is one thing to spout from the word of God; it is another thing to put it into practice. We can and should seek Him out in decision-making. PS 119: 10, "With my whole heart have I sought Thee: O let me not wander from Thy commandments." We need to be thankful for what we have. That means taking stock of the blessings received, something we often don't do enough. Paul writes, in COL 4: 22, "Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful." We can follow this prayerful approach in PHIL 4: 6-7, "Do not worry about anything, but in all your prayers ask God for what you need, always asking Him with a thankful heart. And God's peace, which is far beyond human understanding, will keep your hearts and minds safe in union with Christ Jesus." Praise be to Him!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn