Are You Worried?

For the Lord grants wisdom!
    From his mouth come knowledge and understanding.

Proverbs 2:6

 

I hate to admit it, but I was fooled and taken advantage of a couple of years back.  I heard of a family in dire straits and sought to help even though I suspected better, nonetheless, I rendered financial assistance only to hear how happy the family was now that they had money to spend on their Christmas gifts.  I freely confess that I was more furious when I heard that, but by then I could not recover the aid that had been rendered.  And it was then God chose to remind me that I should have heeded his prompting instead of jumping in with both feet.

 

God grants us wisdom when we ask for it.  That's His job.  Our job is to listen and heed the wisdom He gives us. God doesn't grant us His wisdom just to have something to do.  He gives us wisdom for our own good.  With God's wisdom we can plan for our own family's well being; we can learn to discern whether a sad tale is truth or a lie.

 

Because I didn't heed God's prompting to take some time to think it through, I AND my family paid the price for the deception.  I'm not saying that we should not help others, please don't think I'm saying that at all.  What I am saying is that I am learning, granted the hard way, to stop-pray-listen-pray-consider-pray-then act.  I also have come to understand that I can't help everyone.  God has blessed me in many ways, but being independently is not one of those blessings. 

What To Do Today

May God be merciful and bless us.
    May his face smile with favor on us. 

May your ways be known throughout the earth,
    your saving power among people everywhere.
May the nations praise you, O God.
    Yes, may all the nations praise you.
Let the whole world sing for joy,
    because you govern the nations with justice
    and guide the people of the whole world. 

Psalm 67:1-4 

What should we do today?  How about accept God's blessings?  We are blessed with every breath, every blink of the eye, every sight, sound and scent.  We are blessed because God loves us so much that He provided a way of forgiveness through grace.

We have been blessed and we should remember them.  Count them (especially when we are struggling or enduring challenges).  Remember, God never leaves us and never stops loving us. 

Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow.

James 1:17 

 

I have always been cautious of the "Name-It-And-Claim-It" theology, because I know that I have the propensity to develop a greedy attitude if I am always given everything I ask for.  Think about it, what happens to a child if you give them everything they want?  

 

I have had to learn the hard way that God gives me exactly what I need, rather than whatever I wanted.  You see, I have prayed hard for the health of someone I dearly loved to be restored, and ended up attending their funeral.  I have prayed with deep groans and heart wrenching utterances for a relationship to be restored, and instead, the distance between us grew ever wider.  I have prayed with all that is within me for the salvation of a dear friend only to be informed by that friend that I need to save my breath because he is fully prepared to face "whatever lies beyond."

 

But God gives us gifts every single day that we probably don't consider:

     * Every breath you take.

     * Every moment of sleep.

     * Every moment we get to spend time with our loved ones.

     * Every opportunity we have to make new friends.

     * Every opportunity we have to tell others that we love them.

     * Every opportunity we have to laugh with others.

     * Every tear we shed with someone in pain.

 

God showers us with blessings every single moment of every single day.  Focus on what God has given.  Thank Him for all these blessings and for the learning moments.  Let's grow and learn together.

Blessing for YOU Today!

Now all glory to God, who is able to keep you from falling away and will bring you with great joy into his glorious presence without a single fault. All glory to him who alone is God, our Savior through Jesus Christ our Lord. All glory, majesty, power, and authority are his before all time, and in the present, and beyond all time! Amen.

Jude 24-25

 

I am discovering something that I should have figured out a LONG time ago, which shows that God is extremely patient with hard headed people like me.  The blessings I have found in the Bible have incredible power!  No matter what kind of day I am having; no matter what struggle I am facing; no matter what's going on...these blessings renew my faith and remind me that I'm in the hands of the ONLY one who makes a difference.

 

 

 

 

No Man Is An Island

I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, then you will produce much fruit. Without me, you can’t do anything.

John 15:5

Today is another Jimmy Buffett inspired thought about our dependence on Christ for everything.  You've heard the expression "No Man Is An Island"...well it's true! Listen to the lyrics of the song.

You see, we might be able to survive for a time, because the enemy wants us to believe that we can make it without God.  But the truth of the matter is that we are ultimately helpless without God. 

Think about it this way, you find yourself shipwrecked.  You are the only survivor.  The only things you have are a leaky life raft that is on the verge of sinking, a few gallons of semi-fresh water (which not is sun cooked and tastes like the plastic container), and some dehydrated food packs. You see an island.  You paddle for all you're worth and on reaching the island, you feel grateful.  You make a shelter, you gather the provisions you had on the life raft, and you believe you have been saved...

Eventually, your provisions are going to run out.  You will need to find food, a source of water, shelter, firewood, a means of getting meat, and the list goes on and on.  One person can only do a few things.  No one can do everything.  When we remember that Christ is the source of our everything, then we will begin to see how He brings people into our lives that can help us just when we feel like giving up.  We will see how we are prompted to help someone keep from giving up.

The enemy would have us believe that if we struggle then it's because God is angry with us and we are being punished or God doesn't care about us and has left us to our own resources. Remember the song, "Praise God from whom ALL blessings flow"?  Without Him we can do nothing (not even breathe), so why look elsewhere for strength?