How awesome has this past week's study been? Personally, it's forced me to dig deep and really wrestle with some heart issues I've been struggling with for awhile and in the process start giving them up to God so that He can begin His healing work in me. Whew! BIG sigh of relief! I am loving this study! I can't wait to see what God reveals next in the coming weeks!
Today's study talked about the final provision God provided for His children in the wilderness: Clothing. Now, I don't know about you, but I like to shop for clothes - especially shoes. LOVE shoes! The higher the heel, the better, in my opinion. Can you imagine God being choosy enough about clothes that He might be interested in whether I bought flats as opposed to sling-back high heels?
Of course, that might be going a bit far (still fun to imagine, I say), but it is pretty amazing to think that if He paid that much attention to detail when He created the flowers in the field which do not last, how much greater does He care and provide for us - we who are made in His own likeness!
And even better:
Of course, that might be going a bit far (still fun to imagine, I say), but it is pretty amazing to think that if He paid that much attention to detail when He created the flowers in the field which do not last, how much greater does He care and provide for us - we who are made in His own likeness!
And even better:
I delight greatly in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God. For He has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. Isaiah 61:10
Because of Jesus' ultimate sacrifice on the cross, we get the precious gift of being clothed with garments of salvation and righteousness! Um...yes, please! I'll take a "garment of salvation" and a "robe of righteousness" over any ensemble I could buy from Target any day! Incredible, don't you think?
God revealed Himself to His children through His constant care and provision. He still does. In what ways has He recently shown you His heart by providing for your needs?
God revealed Himself to His children through His constant care and provision. He still does. In what ways has He recently shown you His heart by providing for your needs?
6 comments:
this is huge for me!!! sometimes i get SO caught up in what i look like, what clothes i'm wearing... this is especially hard in our culture and society full of materialism no matter the cost!! i mean, we will spend money we don't have to buy things that will "go out of style" next year, and yet most of us have a hard time giving money we do have for the furthering of God's Kingdom!! the average "tithe" for christians, i've heard, it around 1 or 2%... and 10% is where God STARTED it at (i want to mention that he didn't STOP it there, it was just a place to START!) anyway, enough ranting... i'm truly ranting at myself... i get SO frustrated about materialism and the way it consumes and yet i'm one of the worst!!! it's not even necessarily for those of us who have a lot--you can be materialistic (and greedy) without having much!! when i was in haiti, i found many greedy haitians. haiti is considered a 4th world country, the poverty is truly unbelievable!! and yet, a lot of the attitudes were still greedy!!.. this is proof that it's an attitude! we choose what we focus on--it doesn't always seem like we have a choice. i think satan has convinced us we don't have the ability to make choices!... but it's true... what our we focused on??... it's so easy for us to provide for ourselves. i heard a pastor say once, "most of us plan to NOT have to rely on God!" it was sad to me to realize how true this was!... i've thought about that quote SO often since then, and it has actually helped me to rejoice when i've been in a situation where i can ONLY rely on God!... it's really about perspective....
so, to answer the question... well, there is something that just happened last week where we saw God's provision... in fact, i think it might have been one of the quickest answers to prayer i've seen!! last wednesday, shane (my husband) was leaving early to meet w/ two other guys for their weekly accountability and encouragement. his car was going to need gas this particular day.. we've been doing some major budget crunching these past couple of months because we feel this past year we've been poor stewards and also we want to be able to give more!! so, we've been trying hard to stick to it!!! shane has been doing some extra things to make some cash flow that we reserve for gas alone (since it's outrageously high these days!) well, that surplus ran out, being that it's the end of the month! shane was praying wednesday morning before he even got in the car that God would take care of this for us... he went to pick his friend, S, and go meet their other buddy. S asked him to stop at the gas station and then proceeded to fill up the gas tank in our car!! it was just amazing!!! God made it more than clear to us that He was taking care of things for us... i also think it was a small reward for us working our best to be faithful to what God has given us and be good stewards... things don't always happen like this, but no matter how things play out, we are always able to see God's hand in it!! i praise Him for taking care of us, and i want to continue to surrender my mind, heart and soul to Him in order to see His provision and to have a godly perspective on life--to have this knowledge at the forefront, that God has adorned us with robes of righteousness and garments of salvation and has made us pure, blameless and washed us white like snow! how awesome!! if he is concerned and provides us with what we wear, then surely He will take care of everything!! it's also nice to know that i truly can rely on Him for EVERYTHING!!! i want to rest in that fact!...
Sara - thank you for writing your thoughts on tithing. I was never taught to be a generous giver - and God has really been working on me to recognize the role that I play in my community by giving what is already His. I have held on to that 10% for so long - and I have only been giving it for a short while. But in a time where I have the most significant financial needs, I miss that money the least. I am looking at our church and seeing that the financial needs of caring for God's people is so much more important - and wondering how I could have chosen to not be a part of that. It feels good to write about it - because I really never wanted to talk about it before. Anyway - it is a small prayer request that I can grow to rejoice more and more in giving.
God has shown his provision in too many ways to list. I'll just say that there has not been a need that has not been met in the past few months. I looked at the process of getting married, preparing to move, and trying to sell my home, and wondered how it would ever happen. And there is nothing that we have been unable to handle. God has provided ways for us to pay every installment, bill, rent check, mortgage payment, etc - and He has brought our marriage closer by showing us that we can do it by working together. He is so good at every moment.
First of all I just want to acknowledge Meghan for doing such a wonderful job this week. Meghan, you are a very dear friend as you already know, but in the years that I've known you I've never seen or heard you so expressive. I can totally see God showing himself through you in the study and I'm loving every minute of it. I know that this has been completely out of your comfort zone, which even you have expressed to us, but you are fabulous in every way!!! Thank you!
As for today's study I have to say something really stood out to me. Beth said, "God was training His people to depend totally on Him in every area of their lives." He was training them just as he is training each and every one of us now! The part that really gets me is that he wants us to totally depend on him on EVERY area of our lives. Not just the major crisis that we might have just experienced, but all the little things too. This is one of my very own struggles. Slowly but surely I'm learning to turn every thing over to him and solely depend on him alone!
Here is where God has revealed himself to me... As some of you know I've been working from home the last 2 years. It has been a blessing and have loved every minute of it. This past week my boss just told me that he didn't have any work for me this week, so I didn't get any income. Me, being the worrier that I am, started looking for other work from home jobs. I happened to come across and flexible nursing position for at Home pediatric patients. It's very flexible and I would only have to work one day a week.
Here is my delima... I expressed my concerns to my current boss and he doesn't want to lose me as an employee, so he garaunteed me hours from here on out. I only work 10 hrs a week, but in order to do that I only work when my kiddos are sleeping. 2 hrs every afternoon.
The Home care position requires that I spend 8 hrs with a child at their own home (this child being VERY sick and on bed rest and on ventilator - etc). I will make a little more doing this then what I'm currently doing, but again I will be away from my children.
So it's either work every afternoon while staying home with my kids, or spending one day away from my kids for 8 hrs. I have been praying a praying, and I'm still unsure as to which way God is leading me.
I'm saying all this because God showed me this week to not just jump into the "worry" mode right away. To sit back and watch him work. He has showed me that I have options, that I will never be left out to dry! I just don't know why it's so hard for me to trust and rely on him FIRST instead of doing things my way (which usually consists of a TON of stress and anxiety). Why do we always have to learn the hard way!
i agree, sarah! why do we choose to learn the hard way??!!... i have really been challenged with that very thing this year--trying to sit back and watch God work... it has not been easy, but i can look back and see all that He has done in my life! situation where i would have normally worried, and now i see there was NO reason to at all! when we first moved, (close to a year ago) i felt very lonely... but at the same time i wasn't being very aggressive at making friends... just kind of wallowing in self pity and missing my friends from back "home." i honestly don't think i've ever felt such an ache as i did when we first moved here.. it was literally scary to me. overwhelming, intimidating, tiring... i began to pray for a community, and i began to see that God needed to heal me, heal our family. he was also giving us time to rest, i believe. a weakness of mine is that i tend to jump into things too quickly without thinking or managing my time to make sure i can handle it! i am getting better at this, but usually it's a defense mechanism so that i don't have to deal with what's really going on inside--if i'm busy, i won't have to think about it! so, God slowed us WAY down, gave us time to heal and time to just be a family together.... God slowly brought people into our lives to fill that void of friendships and also to encourage us spiritually! i also began to worry about school (as i've mentioned before). but constantly i was getting this theme: "just relax. i will take care of you. sit back and watch me do my thing." so, i began to do my best to hand every worry over to God, AND to remind Him that He needs to take care of it for me!:) it has been a good reminder to me through this study that God IS taking care of us and He knows our situations in life and has a plan!!! so, here's me... sitting and waiting for Him to continually reveal Himself to me!... wow, i'm finding it's hard, and all at once incredibly freeing to NOT have to worry about things!!! thanks for the encouragement this week, everyone!! it's awesome growing w/ you all and learning from you!...
Hello everyone! I am still about a week behind you guys. I try to read the blog daily, but feel that I'm not up to speed since I'm behind in the study... This blog is truly amazing! Your words are so inspiring & encouraging to me. I will try to get bolder with my own thoughts. I guess I've been having the same thoughts as some of the other ladies...that I don't know all of you as well as you know each other, I might type something that doesn't make sense or seems silly, etc. I will try to get past this & know I'm in a safe place to share. Thanks again for putting this together!
Sara, some People chose to be tought the Hard way, I don't know Why. God knows I don't choose to but yet I am being tought the hard way cause of what all I been through Physically in my Lifetime!
Post a Comment