January 14, 1992
The propane tank rental was due but I didn’t have the $50 necessary to avert repossession. I had been struggling to earn a living sewing and selling wildlife paintings so I could stay home to support my two small children. It was in this narrow place, a new Christian alone against threatening poverty, that God taught me a lesson I’ve never forgotten.
Prior to the propane tank crisis, I had realized my sinfulness and came to the Lord in humiliation. Mortified by some of the things I had done, I had a deep desire to please Him but I knew I could not earn eternal life — that is a gift. Grateful for it, along with the forgiveness He offered, I sought to become all He wanted and intended I should be.
He showed me His promise regarding the daily concerns of life: “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. These things referred to food, clothing and other needs (not greeds). At that point, my luxuries were in a rather barren fridge, hanging in an nearly empty closet, and sitting out in the yard in a bullet-shaped silver fuel tank.
At this point, I’d not looked around and noticed there were other people prospering while I was not. Had I done that, I may have been angry at God and needed to read Psalms 37: “Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for Him; Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way... for evildoers shall be cut off; but those who wait on the LORD, they shall inherit the earth.”
Nevertheless, verse 16 of that Psalm was a truth God wanted me to learn: “The little that a righteous person has is better than the riches of many wicked.” I was learning to appreciate the simple necessities. Even though my meager income only allowed $7 a week for groceries, God saw fit to fill my freezer through the generosity of others who knew Him. He showed me I did not need to “be ashamed in the evil time, And in the days of famine I would be satisfied” (Psalms 37:19).
In the years since those tough early days of my Christian walk, I have seldom if ever worried about having enough. God taught that lesson well — and honored His promises. My husband was deeply in debt when we were married but we paid off that debt, by the grace of God. Later, when he became a Christian, God taught Him that if he would trust the Lord and be generous with what God had given, God would continue to meet every need. We have learned that we cannot out-give God. Whatever we do to help out someone in need, God pours in the supply.
Sometimes I have wondered if this abundance will last... and God always takes me back to the lesson. He supplies all our NEEDS, according to His riches. With the Psalmist, I can say, “I have been young, and now am old; Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, Nor his descendants begging bread” (37:25).
The principle of Matthew 6:33 is simple: As His children seek Him (not wealth), and seek His righteousness (not some exalted human goodness but the goodness that comes from a deep relationship with Jesus Christ), He will take care of all our needs (again, not greeds).
The propane tank? Shortly after the bill arrived so did a letter from a woman I had never met. She wanted me to paint a portrait of her dog and cat. Not an unusual request but what she included with her order was very unusual. It has never happened before or since. She sent what she thought would be an appropriate payment — in advance! The amount was $52.50, enough for the pressing needs — the tank rental, and a canvas on which to put the paint!
Showing posts with label God's care. Show all posts
Showing posts with label God's care. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 15, 2015
Wednesday, January 7, 2015
Coincidences? ................. Parables 219
(May 30, 1990)
For a couple of weeks a friend of mind kept silent about some mistreatment she was receiving from another person whose name happened to be Ms. Fox. My friend told me how God encouraged her through a sermon about “little foxes spoiling the vine...”
Just as I sat down to write this article, I thought, “I should get her permission (to say what I just said) before I begin.” At just that moment, the telephone rang and it was the same friend, calling to chat.
A few months ago, my brother and his wife took a vacation to the U.S. They stopped for a coffee at a service station in the Arizona desert. As they sat down, my sister-in-law’s father (also from Alberta) happened to walk in. Neither of them even knew the other was on vacation, never mind where.
An older lady, whose farm yard had the usual icy build-up all winter, fell and broke her hip -- but on a well-waxed community hall floor where there were literally hundreds of people immediately available to help her. Her husband said if she had slipped in their own driveway, he’d never have been able to get her inside out of the freezing temperatures by himself .
What do you think: coincidence... or providence? People use the term “coincidence” for events that seem to have some connection but appear to happen at the same time without any preliminary planning. Sometimes people call it “luck.” Providence is quite another term. It is less the idea of an accident and more the idea of “someone being in control.” The dictionary says “divine guidance or care,” with “God being the power behind human destiny.”
The sovereign providence of God is not an easy concept. If He can provide a hall full of caring people for a lady who broke her hip, could not He have provided that the fall didn’t happen in the first place? However, if mere chance determines who shows up in a coffee shop, or what preachers say in their sermons, why bother asking God to do anything? Prayer (and life) is meaningless if chance rules the world.
My mind is too small to grasp God’s supreme control, however this illustration helps me: Imagine all people in one giant playground. There is a fence around it and while the fence doesn’t control each and every movement of the children inside, it does contain them within its boundaries.
God does the same. He holds us within His boundaries. Like the children at play, we are free to make choices but not go outside the fence. Yet God is not passive like a fence. He also can involve Himself with our choices. Imagine two children trying to ride the same swing at the same time. He can intervene if it suits His purposes, or leave them to work it out.
In other words, He didn’t toss us into a bingo number cage and start turning the crank to see what falls out. Nor are we like chess pieces that cannot move unless He moves us. He lovingly keeps His eyes on every event and, by faith, “we know He works all things work together for our good . . .” (Romans 8:28), yet we are free within His boundaries.
With that concept, we can enjoy providence -- the marvelous, watchful care and intervention of God in our the lives. Let’s face it, if Someone wasn’t intervening, we’d have blown ourselves off the planet before now.
But what about coincidence? Do we have to fear (or hope) that things just happen? Is luck part of life?
Well, if it is, the Lord God is not surprised by chance. We may not understand everything that happens, but HE does. Because of His providence, when people say, “things have a way of working out...” we can be certain that a loving God is the One doing the working!
For a couple of weeks a friend of mind kept silent about some mistreatment she was receiving from another person whose name happened to be Ms. Fox. My friend told me how God encouraged her through a sermon about “little foxes spoiling the vine...”
Just as I sat down to write this article, I thought, “I should get her permission (to say what I just said) before I begin.” At just that moment, the telephone rang and it was the same friend, calling to chat.
A few months ago, my brother and his wife took a vacation to the U.S. They stopped for a coffee at a service station in the Arizona desert. As they sat down, my sister-in-law’s father (also from Alberta) happened to walk in. Neither of them even knew the other was on vacation, never mind where.
An older lady, whose farm yard had the usual icy build-up all winter, fell and broke her hip -- but on a well-waxed community hall floor where there were literally hundreds of people immediately available to help her. Her husband said if she had slipped in their own driveway, he’d never have been able to get her inside out of the freezing temperatures by himself .
What do you think: coincidence... or providence? People use the term “coincidence” for events that seem to have some connection but appear to happen at the same time without any preliminary planning. Sometimes people call it “luck.” Providence is quite another term. It is less the idea of an accident and more the idea of “someone being in control.” The dictionary says “divine guidance or care,” with “God being the power behind human destiny.”
The sovereign providence of God is not an easy concept. If He can provide a hall full of caring people for a lady who broke her hip, could not He have provided that the fall didn’t happen in the first place? However, if mere chance determines who shows up in a coffee shop, or what preachers say in their sermons, why bother asking God to do anything? Prayer (and life) is meaningless if chance rules the world.
My mind is too small to grasp God’s supreme control, however this illustration helps me: Imagine all people in one giant playground. There is a fence around it and while the fence doesn’t control each and every movement of the children inside, it does contain them within its boundaries.
God does the same. He holds us within His boundaries. Like the children at play, we are free to make choices but not go outside the fence. Yet God is not passive like a fence. He also can involve Himself with our choices. Imagine two children trying to ride the same swing at the same time. He can intervene if it suits His purposes, or leave them to work it out.
In other words, He didn’t toss us into a bingo number cage and start turning the crank to see what falls out. Nor are we like chess pieces that cannot move unless He moves us. He lovingly keeps His eyes on every event and, by faith, “we know He works all things work together for our good . . .” (Romans 8:28), yet we are free within His boundaries.
With that concept, we can enjoy providence -- the marvelous, watchful care and intervention of God in our the lives. Let’s face it, if Someone wasn’t intervening, we’d have blown ourselves off the planet before now.
But what about coincidence? Do we have to fear (or hope) that things just happen? Is luck part of life?
Well, if it is, the Lord God is not surprised by chance. We may not understand everything that happens, but HE does. Because of His providence, when people say, “things have a way of working out...” we can be certain that a loving God is the One doing the working!
Wednesday, October 15, 2014
Why does God allow poverty? ................. Parables 183
September 20, 1989
Some people say, “I would die before I’d ever go on social assistance.” Others respond, “Oh yea? Without it, I would have died.”
The have’s and the have-nots. Fat and lean. The rich and the poor. Whatever we call them, every society houses both ends of their own particular economic spectrum. Here, the poor seldom go hungry or homeless. In India or Africa, our poor might seem rich in comparison to their levels of poverty.
Some people ask why does God allow poverty? Others may wonder why He allows riches. Unknown to both, God has a social assistance program apart from whatever economic bracket we might be in. Furthermore, His supply of physical or material goods is merely a fringe benefit, icing on the “cake”.
Before we get to the “cake” though, it must be understood that according to Jesus, both rich and poor can put their focus on material wealth and lose sight of the “cake.” In one instance, a man concerned about an unfair division of inheritance approached Jesus. After refusing to act as a judge in his case, the Lord said, “...Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.”
Then He told this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. And he thought, ‘What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops? ...I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. And I will say to my soul... eat, drink, and be merry.’
“But God said to him, ‘You fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’ ...so is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God...”
Jesus address the poor person in the same sermon: “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven... for where your treasure is there your heart will be also... no one can serve two masters... you cannot serve God and money... therefore, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on... look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? ...your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things...”
Jesus then tells how to get the “cake” and qualify for God’s social assistance program. It is not by filling out forms or being out of work for six weeks. It is this: “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you...” (Matthew 6)
Was He joking? How can a search for the realm of God’s rule fill anyone’s stomach? How can seeking His righteousness (which is not the same as our own brand) put clothes on anyone’s back?
David knew the answer long before Jesus made the promise, “I have been young, and now am old; yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his descendants begging bread.” (Psalm 37:25)
Simply put, God takes care of His children. He makes sure they have enough to eat and wear. And that is the fringe benefit. The initial gift is new life through spiritual birth, not only entering into His family and receiving eternal life, but entering also into the greatest social assistance program ever.
Some people say, “I would die before I’d ever go on social assistance.” Others respond, “Oh yea? Without it, I would have died.”
The have’s and the have-nots. Fat and lean. The rich and the poor. Whatever we call them, every society houses both ends of their own particular economic spectrum. Here, the poor seldom go hungry or homeless. In India or Africa, our poor might seem rich in comparison to their levels of poverty.
Some people ask why does God allow poverty? Others may wonder why He allows riches. Unknown to both, God has a social assistance program apart from whatever economic bracket we might be in. Furthermore, His supply of physical or material goods is merely a fringe benefit, icing on the “cake”.
Before we get to the “cake” though, it must be understood that according to Jesus, both rich and poor can put their focus on material wealth and lose sight of the “cake.” In one instance, a man concerned about an unfair division of inheritance approached Jesus. After refusing to act as a judge in his case, the Lord said, “...Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.”
Then He told this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. And he thought, ‘What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops? ...I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. And I will say to my soul... eat, drink, and be merry.’
“But God said to him, ‘You fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’ ...so is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God...”
Jesus address the poor person in the same sermon: “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven... for where your treasure is there your heart will be also... no one can serve two masters... you cannot serve God and money... therefore, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on... look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? ...your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things...”
Jesus then tells how to get the “cake” and qualify for God’s social assistance program. It is not by filling out forms or being out of work for six weeks. It is this: “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you...” (Matthew 6)
Was He joking? How can a search for the realm of God’s rule fill anyone’s stomach? How can seeking His righteousness (which is not the same as our own brand) put clothes on anyone’s back?
David knew the answer long before Jesus made the promise, “I have been young, and now am old; yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his descendants begging bread.” (Psalm 37:25)
Simply put, God takes care of His children. He makes sure they have enough to eat and wear. And that is the fringe benefit. The initial gift is new life through spiritual birth, not only entering into His family and receiving eternal life, but entering also into the greatest social assistance program ever.
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