God’s Perfect Preservation

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a good reminder, can I trust God to take care of me, Can I trust God when things hurt, Is having faith worth the effort, reflections, trust, trusting God with your anguish, trusting God's plan

Psalm 32:7 says, “Thou art my hiding place; Thou dost preserve me from trouble; Thou dost surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah.”

The Lord will preserve us from trouble. He is our hiding place. He surrounds us with songs of deliverance. You might be thinking, “Really? All I see is trouble. All I know is abandonment and all I hear is madness.”

Look closely, my friend. He is here. He is your hiding place. He was in your past. He will be in your future and He is here now, in your today. Even if your trouble surrounds you, you are winning your battle because He is on your side. In the midst of it, know that He is preserving you.

Remember what it’s like when you are canning vegetables from your garden? Things get hot. This is all in the process of preserving, isn’t it? Through that process, things get hot and uncomfortable (for us and the vegetables). Just like those garden goodies, we would like to stay on the vine, being watered gently daily and basking in the pleasant sunshine. We don’t like the boiling water bath, but that’s the only way true preservation can take place. God’s preserving methods sometimes feel just as uncomfortable as canning must feel to a vegetable (if it had feelings), but rest assured you are being protected, preserved and sheltered for the winter ahead. I Peter 5:10 says, “And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm,  strengthen and establish you.” What better preserving could we ask for?

To take our example a little farther, nothing tastes sweeter than fresh vegetables from your own garden. You can buy things from a local Farmer’s Market, but the absolute best is knowing that through God’s provision and your own hard work, the food you are eating came from your own plot. So it is with God’s spiritual provision for us, we can hear other’s testimonies (and they are encouraging), but there is nothing like experiencing our own tests and coming out victorious. We are then experiencing our own fresh fruit from our own God-given garden. Spiritual preservation can then provide fresh faith for us in the middle of our spiritual winters. We “open up” our jar of faith and remember God has already provided in times past and He can and will provide for our now. We just have to open up what’s already on the shelf. Ephesians 1:3 tells us that we have already been blessed with every spiritual blessing.

It is so  frustrating to buy tomato juice at the grocery store only to discover another stack of homemade, well-preserved juice ready to use. Somehow, I always manage to shove a few jars behind some green beans, or jelly of some sort. They are forgotten for a time. When I finally find those jars, they can still be used, but oh, how great it would have been in that homemade soup last week!?

Just like those forgotten jars of juice, we need to remember that God has provided for us. He has preserved us and established us with exactly what is needed. Sometimes though, His provision gets relegated to the back. Let’s ask Him to help us remember what has already been preserved in us. Let’s open up what He has already established in us! Let’s feast on what He has already provided.

Psalm 32:7 also talks about God surrounding us with songs of deliverance. I really enjoy singing when I’m in the kitchen, don’t you? There’s nothing like humming (or belting out) a little tune while going about our tasks. So, just imagine that while God is in “our kitchens” preserving us for the coming winter’s trials, He is actually singing over us as He works. I love that! He is molding us and preserving us into the men and women that He designed for us to be. God is excited throughout the preserving process knowing that what He is making us into now is exactly what we need to be in our future. The process may be hot at times, but He is lovingly watching the clock, knowing exactly how many minutes we need in the boiling water to produce the desired results, all the while singing precious songs over us. When we allow Him to guide the process, He never allows a jar to crack; He never ruins a batch. He is the Perfect Preserver.

No matter if we are in the middle of needing to hide in Him, being preserved by Him for the coming winter, or hearing clearly His songs of deliverance, let’s rest in Him today. Let’s rest in Him knowing that He will never leave us, or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). He will not ever stop loving us (I John 3:1) and He will always perfectly preserve us for the coming days (Psalm 41:2).

Seeking Hearts Ministries

My Story

 

** Photo by simplyeclectic.com

 

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Meet a Friend Day

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Christianity, faith, focusing on God in hard times, focusing on the Lord, God never lets go, God's faithfulness, how to have faith in difficulties, never failing God, reflections, trust, trusting God, trusting god in the pain, truth

This blog is from a friend of mine that I had the privilege of serving with at a conference in Ohio over a year ago. She recently started a blog and this particular one really touched my heart…so I had to share it with you all.  Click on the link below and enjoy! I know you will be blessed.

Leah’s blog 

** Photo by clipartpanda

 

Can God be Trusted?

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a great way to live, am i really trusting god, can God be trusted, Can I trust God, daily trust, dependence on God, does god ever fail, does God fail people, encouragement, encouragement to keep hanging on, is depending on God worth it, is God worth trusting, living in trust, trust, what does trusting God look like, will God fail me

This week’s blog is a video I made over a year ago, but God kept bringing it to mind once again. What a beautiful reminder to keep us going this year…our God can be trusted.

Can God be Trusted?

When God Doesn’t do what you Thought He Would

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am I too bad to love, burdens, does god ever fail, does God have a dark side, does God love me, god has no dark side, god never fails, God's love, God's truth, is god moody, never failing God, our god is good, struggling with God, trust, truth, when you struggle with trust, why does God let bad things happen, why doesn't god fix this, why wont god help me

I’ve said for some time now that there is a certain crisis of faith that comes to every human when deciding whether they believe God can do what He says He can do. Can He really save me? Can He really heal? Can He really drop manna from the sky? And then, there is the crisis of faith that comes when you know without a doubt that God can move mountains, but He’s just not doing it for you. I mean, what is more frustrating than knowing that someone, anyone, can help, they’re just choosing not to? When that happens, a whole new crisis of faith occurs. Your mountain is looming large and you know your God can move it, but He’s choosing not to and you are left floundering with questions. Is my God really good? Can my God really be trusted? Does He really have a plan for my good? Do I really matter to Him?

I’m not going to pretend to know all the answers to why God is allowing certain things in your life. I’m not even going to pretend to know why He is allowing certain things in my life. I’m not going to pretend to have the answers as to why God would allow children to have cancer, rapists to go free, or even why food can’t be put on every table this week? But, I can tell you (and me) what to focus on when God doesn’t do what we want Him to do.

Let me start by assuring you that you do indeed have a good God. You have a God who does choose to move mountains for you. You have a God who wants you to look like Him and act like Him and love Him as He loves you. You have a never failing, never ceasing, never forsaking God who has a detailed plan for you since before the first molecule was on this earth. Know that because it’s true.

Lamentations 3:17-26 says, “My soul has been deprived of peace; I have forgotten what happiness is. Then I thought: My future is lost, as well as my hope from the LORD. Remember my affliction and my homelessness, the wormwood and the poison. I continually remember them and have become depressed. Yet I call this to mind, and therefore I have hope: Because of the LORD’s faithful love we do not perish, for His mercies never end. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness! I say: The LORD is my portion, therefore I will put my hope in Him. The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, to the person who seeks Him. It is good to wait quietly for deliverance from the LORD.” Verses 31-33 go on to say, “For the Lord will not reject us forever. Even if He causes suffering, He will show compassion according to His abundant, faithful love. For He does not enjoy bringing affliction or suffering on mankind.”

This passage is so great. We get to see the struggle that Jeremiah had with what was happening all around him and to him. He couldn’t understand it and he became depressed. He even admits in this passage that he lost his hope in the Lord. Then, he decided to remember who His God is. He decided to think about God’s faithfulness, His love and His mercies. He decided that The Lord was his portion for this life and his hope. He decided to rest in God knowing that His God would come through. God’s deliverance obviously wouldn’t look like Jeremiah thought it would. It obviously wouldn’t come at the time that Jeremiah thought that it should, but Jeremiah decided to look up, remember His God and trust. That’s the kind of faith I want, don’t you?

First John 1:5 tells us, “Now this is the message we have heard from Him and declare to you: God is light, and there is absolutely no darkness in Him.” You can trust that. Our God has no ulterior motives. He has no dark side. He is good. He is holy. He is true and He. Is. In. Love. With. You.

Song of Solomon 7:10 says, “I am my beloved’s, and his desire is toward me.” God’s desire is toward you. God wants to be with you. He wants to be so melded with you that all people see is Him being uniquely displayed through your personality, your giftings and your sweet face. He has fashioned you for such a time as this and will not stop pursuing you until every fiber of your being is His. He is obsessed with you. Hebrews 13:5 says He will never leave us and Zephaniah 3:17 says He sings over us.  That is not a God who fails. That is a God who loves. Believe that today. Know it with every fiber of your being. If you have to be like the father in Mark 9:24 who said, “I do believe!” and then, quickly added, “Help my unbelief,” so be it, but keep pressing in to your God. He can be trusted. He will come through. He will strengthen you for the task and He is worthy of every fragment of faith you place in Him. He has you, precious one. He has you. Rest in that today.

Seeking Hearts Ministries          My Story

A Needed Reminder

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control, controlling worry, details, faith, good start for the week, good start to your day, good thoughts, making great decisions, mission trips, quick devotion, resting in God, short thought, sleepless night, trust, trusting God with the details, vision, worry

I Thessalonians 5:24 says, “Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.”

I really need this reminder today.

My guy is a visionary. He gets an idea, knows a certain path and that’s it…he’s ready to take the plunge.

I, on the other hand, am a detail girl.

I love the big ideas, but my mind automatically goes to the how.

If we are my moving, I remember every detail that needs to happen to get us there.

If we are remodeling a space, even though I am not a construction person, I seem to be the one to remember to buy the nails.

If we are going on a mission trip, I think of every little detail…over and over again.

That’s what kept me from sleeping some last night…a mission trip we are going on this summer. Details, details, details. Even though details are good, they can also drive me insane.

During my mental list making in the night, the Holy Spirit reminded me of I Thessalonians 5:24. He reminded me that I am called to go and He will accomplish what is supposed to be accomplished. Yes, I need to remember to bring my toothpaste, but He will take care of the details of loving on the people, teaching what needs to be taught, the team’s health and so much more because “Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.”

Rest in that this week. Write your lists and use the gift of details that God has given you, but then set the pen aside and trust Him to accomplish the call on your life. Depend on Him for every detail knowing that He is always faithful.

Seeking Hearts Ministries

My Story

 

Can God be Trusted?

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can God be trusted, Can I trust God, circumstances, daily trust, do I really trust God, God can be trusted, God never lets go, how to keep trusting God when things seem hopeless, how to trust God, how to trust God fully, is trusting God worth it, keep trusting God, knowing God can be trusted, seeing beyond the now, trust, trust in God, trusting God, trusting God with our children, trusting God with your anguish, truth, who can I trust, why God can be trusted

 

Do you ever wonder if God can really be trusted? Do you ever wonder if trusting God is worth it? Do doubts about His love for you creep in when the lights are off and the house is quiet?

This session discusses many obstacles we face when learning to trust God and answers some questions like, “Does God want our questions?” “Does God get mad when we doubt Him?” and “Does God deserve to be trusted?”

I love this session because we see how people in the Bible dealt with their trust issues and how those examples can teach us how to deal with our own doubts.

This is the last session I will link to the blog (as far as I know), so if you want to be notified of other videos in the future you will need to subscribe to the YouTube channel. When you watch a session, there is a subscribe button right below the video.

Praying you all have a weekend filled with joy!

YouTube – Can God be Trusted?

 

Choosing to Open the Gate

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Christian encouragement, christian journey, christian walk, closed off places, dark places, devotions, doors, emotional healing, gates, God's healing, healing, nourishment, opening up, secret places, spiritual healing, trust, unhealed, untouchable areas, vulnerable spots

Psalm 24:7-9 says, “Lift up your heads, O gates, and be lifted up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in! Who is the King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, O gates, and lift them up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in! Who is this King of glory? The LORD of hosts, He is the King of glory. Selah.”

Gates and doors can be great things. They allow us to protect items we hold valuable, make us feel safe when locked at night and can create a sense of privacy, but they also can make us isolated and alone. If we never allow anyone to enter our own private sanctuaries, how can we love on people and be loved? How can we have a sense of family with friends and neighbors if our doors are always shut? Protection is one thing, but isolation is quite another. Psalm 24 encourages us to open our doors not so more people can let us down, but so our strong King of glory can come in.

I remember Anne Graham Lotz saying that our God is a gentleman and He simply won’t come where He’s not invited. So, even though I may think I want Him to burst through my walls and barriers, it’s actually up to me to open my gate and invite Him into my dark places. To me, that’s what the psalmist is talking about. I don’t think he’s writing about boundaries we have placed to keep ourselves and our families safe. He’s talking about our secret places of devastation and loss, the places we have closed off from healing. These verses encourage us to break our secret doors open and allow the true Healer to enter and fight for us.

Why were cities sieged in days of old? Why did armies sit around for weeks at a time not allowing people to enter, or exit a walled habitation? It was to starve them out. It was a horrible practice, but it worked. We need to realize that just as closed off cities created physical starvation, our hidden places create starving places in our spiritual lives. When we are not receiving nourishment from the God who created us, we are starving whether we realize it, or not. We are wandering around our walled cities grasping at anything to make us feel nourished when the only true nourishment can be found in Jesus.

So, let’s start by asking the Holy Spirit to reveal to us any gates that we have slammed shut. Let’s ask Him to help us open those gates to Him. Let’s open our dark places, our places where we have allowed none to enter, and ask the King of glory to come in. Let me assure you, He will.

You want a white knight? He’s it.

You want a Healer of all hurts? He’s your guy.

You want Living water instead of fake refreshment that leaves you thirstier than ever? That’s our God. That’s our Savior. That’s our King of glory. Let Him in today.

Seeking Hearts Ministries                   My Story

When Faces Change

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anger, battles, christian journey, christian walk, disunity, faces, focus, freedom, others opinion, people's opinion, strife, trust

 

In chapter three of the book of Daniel, we find the famous story of Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego and the fiery furnace. We read how a decree was made in Babylon which said when music was heard from the palace orchestra everyone was to bow down and worship the idol that represented the king. Everyone did just that, except for Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. They would not bow to the king’s idol and were brought before him for punishment.

In verse thirteen of Daniel three, we read that King Nebuchadnezzar was in a furious rage when he heard they would not bow, but when they arrived he gave them another chance. After all, he was a reasonable man. Verses fifteen and sixteen tell us that the orchestra was all ready to play so Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego could fulfill the law and bow to the idol, but the three still refused. In fact, they answered with an incredible amount of faith. They said, “Nebuchadnezzar … if the God we serve exists, then He can rescue us from the furnace of the blazing fire, and He can rescue us from the power of you, the king. But even if he does not rescue us, we want you as king to know that we will not serve your gods or worship the gold statue you set up.”

Daniel 3:19 says, “Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with rage, and the expression of his face changed towards Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego…” Hmmm… “The expression of his face changed”.

Unfortunately, I think many of us have experienced something like this in our lives. The expression of someone’s face towards us used to be favorable, but now it has changed. Sometimes, the reason is obvious. Sometimes, not so obvious and we are left wracking our brain trying to think of what we have done or, what could have warranted the new expression, but we are drawing a blank. We want the relationship to return to the previous favor, but it is not happening. So, what should we do when someone’s face changes towards us?

Before anything, we need to see if reconciliation is possible. Romans 12:18 says, “If possible, on your part, live at peace with everyone.” If you know the situation can be rectified, do it. If you are confused as to why their face has changed toward you, see if they are open to telling you what has changed. Sometimes, a simple misunderstanding can be rectified by open communication.

There are times though, when God has called you to take a stand and people simply will not comprehend it. They will not understand and it will cause them to look at you differently. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego faced such a situation. There was no way they could agree with what King Nebuchadnezzar required of them. Their God was the one, true God and required monotheistic worship. They simply could not worship any other god and stay in right standing with their Creator. They could not straddle the fence. A stand had to be made. The result? The king’s face changed towards them.

When our beliefs go against the grain of our culture, oftentimes we find people’s faces changing toward us. When we stand up against homosexuality, pornography, promiscuity, gossiping or grieving the Holy Spirit, some people simply do not understand why we are so “straight laced”. Their faces change toward us. Do we like it? No. Do we invite it? No. We simply cannot straddle the fence any longer. We must keep standing and grow deeper in our walk with Christ. We must remember First Peter 3:10-12. It says, “For the one who wants to love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit, and he must turn away from evil and do what is good. He must seek peace and pursue it, because the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and His ears are open to their request. But the face of the Lord is against those who do what is evil.”

We obviously would rather have a human’s face turned against us than our God’s. We must pursue what is right before His eyes above all else. Many human faces may change toward us, but we must be focused on the face of our Lord.

For those of you familiar with what happens to Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, you remember that they were not killed in the fiery furnace and that they, in fact, regained the favor of King Nebuchadnezzar. How did things turn around so quickly?

Daniel 3: 24-26 tells us. “Then King Nebuchadnezzar jumped up in alarm. He said to his advisors, ‘Didn’t we throw three men, bound, into the fire?’

‘Yes, of course, Your Majesty,’ they replied to the king.

He exclaimed, ‘Look! I see four men, not tied, walking around in the fire unharmed; and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.’”

This chapter goes on to tell us that King Nebuchadnezzar demanded that they come out of the furnace and declared that no one should say anything against Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego’s God. Verse 30 tells us that the King then rewarded the three and they became strong leaders once again in Babylon.

What a turnaround! What in the world happened?! How did the face of the king go from being against them to being for them? The answer is simple. He saw their close walk with God. He saw that God was with them and they were safe in His presence. He saw that his fury did not matter. What mattered was their God. His focus turned from the three to their God.

When someone’s face changes towards us, we need to use it as a time to press in closer to Jesus. When someone is so focused on us, we need to be so close to Jesus that when they see us, they cannot help but see Christ as well. We need to be willing to be where He is, even if it means going into a blazing furnace, so that others can see Him.

Oftentimes, I want to run around and try to fix things, try to make people like me again, when in reality, if I simply draw closer to Jesus He will take care of it. He will draw people to where they need to be. He will draw them in to see that we are walking free with Him in the middle of great adversity. They might rejoice with us and help us out of the fire or, they may choose to not see the “fourth man”, but we are where we need to be. We are in the arms of Jesus. His face toward us is delight. That’s our goal: His face. Psalm 105:4 says, “Search for the Lord and for His strength; seek His face always.” If I am looking at His face, it is much harder to see others’.

Numbers 6:25 says, “May Yahweh bless and protect you; may Yahweh make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; may Yahweh look with favor on you and give you peace.” That’s our goal. That’s our focus. Let’s remember Whose face we want looking at us with favor. Let’s strive to walk with Christ even in the fire. Let’s press in closer to Him so that others may see Him when they are trying to see us.

  O Lord, grant us the blessing of Your face shining on us. When others look at us in contempt instead of friendship, may we press in closer to where You are. Let others see You walking beside us, residing in us and un-fettering every chain as we walk unbound with You. O Lord, may all of our faces be ever turned towards Your grace. You are our only freedom.

Seeking Hearts Ministries         My Story

 

 

 

When God says, “No.”

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all things for good, building, Christian encouragement, christian journey, christian walk, Christianity, devotions, dreams, encouragement, family devotions, focus, generosity, God, God saying no, God saying yes, God's plan, God's will, hope, investing, investing in the next generation, next generation, passing the torch, trust, vision, vision from God

In Second Samuel 7, we see that King David had it in his heart to build the Lord a temple. David was convicted that his dwelling was in a beautiful house, but His God dwelt in a tent. He got really excited and shared his vision with Nathan, the prophet, who also got excited. As we continue to read though, we see that later that night God told Nathan David wasn’t the one to build the Temple. Solomon, David’s son, would be the one to build the Lord a dwelling place. God did promise that David’s kingdom would be established for ever through the Messiah, but for now David himself was not called to finish the vision for the Temple.

The Word tells us that David went into the presence of the Lord and sat before Him. He wasn’t angry, or frustrated. He was in awe of what the Lord had promised him. He chose to focus on the promise and not the disappointment. David’s vision was so small compared to the Lord’s vision for His life. David realized that God wanted Him to do a much harder thing than build. God wanted David to extend his arm into the next generation and prepare them to build. That would require David being okay with less glory and for David to have the willingness to be humble while preparing the next generation to receive the accolades. David chose to obey. He chose not to press forward with his own vision as he allowed God to have His perfect way.

The Word tells us that even though King David knew he would not be the one to build, he still accumulated all kinds of wealth for the future building. He dedicated time and resources. He gave huge quantities of material and this inspired the people to give as well. He gave knowing he would never see the building of the Temple. He still gave with great generosity even with the knowledge that God had said, “No” to his being the one to build the Temple.

  David chose the hard thing. David chose to invest in the next generation, in the ministry to come. He chose to wait for God’s timing, God’s vision, God’s plan.

I have to ask myself, “When God says, ‘No’ to me, am I still willing to invest in the next generation?” Am I willing to be humble and let the next generation flourish without me? Am I willing to invest with great generosity knowing that the vision God has placed in my heart is not for me to build?”

As my husband and I are transitioning into a new ministry, it’s beyond hard to hear God say, “No” to what we have the vision to build here. But, I still can’t help going into His presence, sitting back on my heels before Him and praising Him for the things that He has allowed to happen in this place. I am in awe of Him and I am realizing that we needed the vision for the building of the Temple, the building of this family of believers, to be able to gather the resources for the next ministry in this place.

I am excited that we were chosen for a fraction of a moment to gather the materials needed for the next phase. I am choosing to invest every second we have left here for the building of the next generation of believers in this Body. As David said, “Who am I that God is mindful of me?”

I am also excited that God’s vision for us personally is so much bigger than what we would have chosen and even though God is saying, “No” to the further building of this ministry, He is saying, “Yes” to something greater. That’s a hard thing to accept it, but I am accepting it. In fact, I am choosing to embrace it. I am in awe of it because our God will never bring us to a place that does not bring Him more glory. Isn’t that our whole goal? To bring Him more glory?

So, what are you going to do when God says, “No” to your vision, or the timing of your vision? Will you willingly gather resources for the next generation, or will you hoard what resources you have been given because it’s not what you wanted?

I pray that we will always be willing to invest in those who come after us. I pray that we will always readily hear His voice and submit to His timing and His perfect ways. I pray that we will always seek Him before we run headlong into a vision that belongs to someone else and I pray that as we kneel together before Him we will always sit back on our heels in constant awe and wonder of who He is.

I love the vision that God has placed on our hearts for this church, but I love His vision more and I am excited to see and hear about the next phase…for all of us.

My Story             Seeking Hearts Ministries

Confessions of a Closet Hoarder

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Christian encouragement, christian journey, christian walk, Christianity, devotional, encouragement, faith, family devotions, focus, giving, God, hoarding, hoarding blessings, Jesus, perspective, receiving, trust

This morning as I was eating my grapefruit, things became a little messy. I probably need to explain that I eat my grapefruit like an orange. I peel it and then I go a bit further than most. I continue on and peel the inner skin as well. It only leaves the pulp and all I can say is that it is super yummy. Strange to some of you, and yes, it’s a lot of prep work, but …mmmmm….only grapefruit pulp? Well worth it. As you can imagine though, it gets quite messy at times. (I actually won’t eat citrus in public so my family won’t crawl under the table in embarrassment.)

As I was eating my grapefruit, I had already grabbed two paper towels and thought it would be plenty, but this particular grapefruit was extra juicy. Juice was running everywhere! As that lovely grapefruit goodness was running down my arms, I felt like a sticky mess and I began to argue with myself about getting another paper towel. I thought one more would be excessive. I thought it would not be frugal to grab another. ‘What if I have three paper towels with every grapefruit? Wouldn’t my grocery budget explode?’ I thought. Finally, I got up to get another paper towel in order to finish my grapefruit in comfort. As I took hold of it, I thought, ‘God provided these paper towels. Go ahead and use them. He provided them.’ I realized that He had this paper towel roll sitting on the counter just for me for this very moment. He knew I would need extra and it was already there, but I was so worried about having paper towels for the rest of the month, I refused to use the blessing right in front of me. If my God counts the hairs on my head as Matthew 10:30 says, wouldn’t He care about paper towels that I need?

It made me wonder how many times I save, or even hoard, His blessings in the now because I am afraid He won’t provide for me in the future.  I don’t say that, but that’s how I live.

Jesus prayed to His Father in Matthew 6 to “give us this day our daily bread”. That’s how we are taught to trust. We need to trust Him for daily provision. But, if I have “bread” stored up for weeks, just in case some tragedy happens, who am I really trusting in? Am I trusting in God, or how smart I’ve been to prepare? I do believe in being responsible, but when God tells us to give, we need to give. That’s what I’m learning.

I’m finding that when I refuse to give as God directs, I’m telling Him that I don’t trust Him for my future. If He tells me to give a bag of beans to someone and I refuse because I only have one, not two, I am telling Him that I don’t believe He will give me that bag of beans tomorrow, or whenever I need them. When He tells me to give a certain amount to church and I only give a partial amount, I am showing Him (and myself) that my trust only goes so far. He knows my trust level, but this allows me to see clearly, to see that my faith may not be what I thought it was, or say that it is.

Psalm 65:11 says, “Thou hast crowned the year with Thy bounty, and Thy paths drip with fatness.” If I believe that Christ’s bounty is around every corner of this year, why would I hoard anything? If I know His mercies are new every morning as Lamentations 3:22-23 tells me, why am I hoarding mercy for myself and not extending it to others? Why would I not give that mercy to others today?

Deuteronomy 8:7-10 says, “For the LORD your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, flowing forth in valleys and hills; a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive oil and honey; a land where you shall eat food without scarcity, in which you shall not lack anything; a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills you can dig copper. When you shall eat and are satisfied, you shall bless the LORD your God for the good land which He has given you.” If I really believe He is bringing me into a good land, why would I hold anything back that He is asking me to give?

I’m finding that it’s all about leaving my hands open, not just to receive, but to give. Oftentimes I have only had my hands open to receive, but then I would quickly close them after receiving a blessing and hoard it for my family. Now, I am praying to keep my hands open to give as well as receive.

When my hand is laying open to give, I am finding that I am receiving more as well. I suppose it’s common sense, but I had never realized it before. As my hand lays open, I don’t decide whether I’m giving or receiving so now both can actually happen concurrently. As long as my hand is open to give, it is also open to receive and God allows this continuous flow to take place. Am I giving so I will receive? No! I am giving because I trust in His provision. He may choose to replace those beans I wrote about earlier, or He may choose to make me learn to like rice, or broccoli, or turnips. It’s up to Him and I trust Him.

Psalm 27:13 says, “I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.” We are in the land of the living and we will see the goodness of the Lord if we simply open our eyes and I believe, our hands as well.

So, grab a grapefruit today, get three whole paper towels. Eat it like an orange and rest assured that your God will provide. In fact, He is providing for you this very minute. He is designing your future. He is integrating relationships in your life that you never imagined were still possible. He is restoring your health and vitality. He is growing your business. He is crowning your year with goodness. It may be with daily bread, or cups running over, but His sovereign hand has you exactly where you need to be. He is here. What more do you need?

Seeking Hearts Ministries

Lonely?