There is a movement sweeping across our nation that excites me. It is a movement (more like an abrupt shift ) to simplicity, frugality and ingenuity. I want to say that this shift thrills me to no end, ( perhaps this is because simplicity and frugality are two things I am very much at home with out of necessity, and am therefore, glad to finally be in style ) but my excitement is also very much tempered by the circumstances that brought about the need for this movement. I am not insensitive to the financial hardships that some around me have had to suffer. This has been a painful time of loss, and self examination for so many of us in this country. ( ...I might even say in our world ) It seems as if the ground has shifted ( is still shifting ) uncontrollably under our feet, and we fear we may never get our financial footing again. Some of us have been moved so far out of our financial comfort zones, that it feels as if we are no longer even in the same zip code as comfort. I am acutely aware that this could be a time of great heartbreak for us if we find our identity, self worth, and treasures in the wrong places. ( I would have lost all hope long ago if mine were in my possessions or my bank account! They are NOT praise God! )
My prayer is that I can give you ( through scripture ) a little bit of hope today. The hope and treasure you find in scripture is not dependant on the economy, and it is something you can take to the eternal bank!( which is in NO danger of ever shutting down .....Yea, God is good! ) There is a quote floating around out there that goes like this: ( I so wish I knew who said it first so I could give them credit ... ) " When we are down to nothing, God is up to something " (- Unknown ) I LOVE this, and I can testify that this has been so very true in my life. So many times in my life God has torn down certain areas of my heart in order to rebuild them in His beautiful image. Many of you right now are thinking that you are down to nothing. You are thinking the well has gone dry, the flour has run out, the bank account is empty....if this is you, then take heart my weary friend .....when we reach the end of ourselves, and reach for Him, He is faithful not just to hear us, but to answer us! Remember, His faithfulness is assured ( because He is God, and cannot be any less than all that He is .....and all that He is is good! Thank you God! )
Matthew 7:7-8 says :
" Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. "
This is a promise that if we truly seek Him, and desire to know His will, His heart, and His plan, He will be found by us. Not only will He be found by us, but He will give us the ability and provision we need in order to walk in His will. God promises us that if He is our heart's desire, and we will trust Him, He will provide everything we need to live the life He calls us to live! ( When you walk with Him, allowing Him to use you for His glory, you will receive direct deposits of daily manna from His eternal bank account! Wow! )
James 1:9 says :
" Believers in humble circumstances ought to take pride in their high position. "
This verse is so awesome to me! I love it, but it has taken me years to grasp the meaning of it. Simply put, those of us who are blessed enough to find ourselves in humble circumstances ought to rejoice! My friends, when we don't have anything in our bank accounts, we get to see those daily, eternal deposits come in, and when we do, we know that none but the hand of God could have put them there. I consider myself to be highly blessed to be loved by my heavenly daddy in this way. He shows me on a daily basis that I am the apple of His eye! ( don't be jealous that I have such a great daddy .....He wants to be yours too! =-) )
Now your next question to me will be,
" Hey how can I get that kind of promise? I want daily provision from an eternal bank account! " ( I would think you were nutty if you didn't! ) If you are trying to figure out how to get to where I am, I will confess to you that it is as simple as accepting the free gift of grace found in Jesus Christ.
John 3:16 says :
" For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. "
and Romans 8:32 tells us :
" He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? "
If God, in His great love for us, did not spare His one and only Son, but gave Him for us, that we might have eternal life, how could we possibly think that He would not also provide such a small thing like our daily needs! ( I can just hear the amens, but may I very humbly suggest what may be a new thought? ) When we finance our daily needs ( and daily wants ) through any bank other than the eternal one, we are showing God that we do not trust Him, and we are robbing Him of the opportunity to be daddy to us! On top of that we are robbing ourselves of blessings, and paying interest on something that God very much wants to give us freely!
John 8:32 says :
" Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
I believe that Jesus himself is the Truth, and the Way and the Life! ( I believe this because the Bible says it in John 14:6 ) and that in Him we will find the only path to true freedom, a freedom unlike any we can ever possibly experience or manufacture in our own strength. It is a deep and eternal freedom that, for those of us who have experienced it, has filled us with such hope and fulfillment, that we have no earthly desire to ever go back! ( I am confident I am not alone in this conviction! Amen?! )
John 8:36 gives us another beautiful promise :
"So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. "
Friend, if you find yourself in a place where you feel anything but free, and you find yourself longing for the freedom, joy and deep contentment that others around you appear to have ......take heart! These verses are for you! There is NO debt so large that my all sufficient God cannot help you achieve freedom from it! ( I am not promising an overnight fix here .......this is a lifestyle, a walk, a relationship.)
God often uses the consequences of our own decisions to teach us valuable lessons. If you are in the midst of learning these kind of lessons, ( and, if we are honest, who of us isn't? ) then don't get discouraged, though we are utterly and hopelessly flawed, My God is perfect in all His ways, and merciful beyond comprehension! .......My prayer for us today is that we would be brave enough to ask God to help us see ourselves the way He sees us, ( warts all ) and when He reveals all the unpleasant little chinks in our imperfect armor, may we then be brave enough to ask Him to refine us by the fire and remake us into the people He longs for us to be!
Isaiah 61:1-2
" The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me,
because the LORD has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners,[a]
to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor
and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn, "
......Thank you Jesus!! <3
No comments:
Post a Comment