Why Me?

I met a lady this past week at the VA hospital who was waiting on her husband to be seen by the dentist.  He’d had surgery on his face for cancer a few months earlier and while in recovery had a heart attack!  So he spent additional time at University Hospital and they weren’t at all sure he was going to make it.  Following the heart attack and chemo they wanted to see if the chemo damaged his teeth!

In another situation a friend of mine endured a tragic loss in the same year.  Her son was killed in a motorcycle accident near Thanksgiving and by Christmas she lost her daughter who had been the victim of kidnapping, rape and murder.  How much worse could it get?

I have so much to be grateful for.  Sometimes I get lost in my “why is this happening to me world” and then recognize my world isn’t nearly as horrible as my mind imagines! I realize when I am focusing on me, I lose sight of what is important and all the things that matter which are good!  I am indeed blessed!

I have a Lord who has forgiven me, looks past what I was and sees me righteous.  Further, He is a mighty healer, comforter, gracious and merciful!  One day I will be swept away to a glorious place beyond my mind’s imagination.  In the meantime I have a family who loves me, which continues to grow!  (We were just blessed with our eleventh grand baby last week!)  I have a warm home, nice clothes, plenty of food, an amazing church family and a multitude of friends.  I have much to be thankful for and should shout from the roof tops the sentiment of the Psalmist, “Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name!"

Do you find yourself looking at your life wondering when things will get better?  Have you ever thought that as bad as things are for you, your neighbor may have it worse and have deeper troubles than your own?  This is often the case.  If there isn’t someone you know who is worse off than you, I suspect if you checked the news, you would find someone.  

As humans, we are so quick to lose sight of how we are blessed and immediately focus on the unpleasant things, whether it’s physical, economical, or social.  If we would remember that our spiritual lives are as important as any of the other aspects of our lives, we would be digging deeper into God’s word to find what he has to say about the matter!

  This is my goal: to mine the wealth of information God has for me in his word.  Perhaps you would accept the challenge and join me in the pursuit of happiness through His divine leading.  We can use His word as guidance for all aspects of our life and discover true contentment and happiness.

Psalms 103:1-5 Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

Grounded In Him

           Almost everyone I know is at least a little concerned with the economic situation in our country!  Every day there are reports about more job loss, a sluggish economy, higher taxes, higher prices, lower wages, and a world that seems to have just gone crazy!  It leaves the mind whirling with questions, without any obvious answers and fills our lives with daily stress; for some to the brink of despair.

            It’s easy to get caught up in the vicious cycle of events over which we have no control.   Yet the situation touches each of us personally.  It brings some sort of response.  We are left wondering, ‘what in the world will happen next?’  We are intimately in tune with our pain and fears!  Our focus, because of our pain is on ourselves, which gets more and more narrow, as we  search for ways to get through the mess, with the least amount of grief and damage possible.

            Such focus, however, takes our concentration away from the One who can give us peace and bless us, despite the situation we are facing.  If we direct our attention to the Lord, we can be the “tree planted by the water” standing strong against the most formidable adversaries.  God is in control even when we can’t make sense of it.  Because of this, we can be sure there is going to be a positive benefit, even if we haven’t a clue at the moment what the benefit will be.  

            As humans with finite minds, we can’t know God’s thoughts yet we can be assured he has a plan.  Further, he is fully aware of all that has happened, and what’s more, he knows what is going to happen!  Our thinking processes are always in “discovery.”  His “thinking” is different.  He isn’t out to solve problems!  He already knows the answer!  Worrying about tomorrow is a futile act that takes more energy than I have and solves nothing!  

            God is always focused on us individually.  He knows our desires, our needs, our motives and our thoughts.   He even knows how I’m going to respond to stress when it finds me.  The best thing I can do in my world of constant “stress” is to stay in Him spiritually.  When I immerse myself in his word and in prayer, I am given a peace that passes human understanding.  My soul is comforted by his faithful, abiding love and from the knowledge that what is beyond my control is completely in God’s control.

            I want to be like that tree standing strong by the water.  I want to be able to deal with life’s hardships and challenges, which without God would pull me under in a current, strong and sinister.  I’d rather stay grounded and focused on the Father, while placing my cares and stress of the world at His feet, than to get so preoccupied with my issues that I miss the beauty of the life and the good, productive plan he has set me.

 “Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose trust is the LORD. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.” Jeremiah 17:7-8

The Gift of Ten Percent

            Tithing can raise the hackles of a lot of people.  The very thought of giving ten percent right off the top of one’s paycheck can seem intimidating and foolish to those who don’t understand. 

            I want to begin my thoughts with illustrations of prominent men who believed tithing was important, according to an article called “Seven Biblical Reasons Why We Pay Tithes.”  Each of the following men was founder and president or CEO of their respective companies: Mr. Henry Crowell: Quaker Oats, Mr. William Colgate: Colgate-Palmolive, Mr. William Proctor (and James Gamble): Proctor & Gamble, Mr. J.C. Penny: J.C. Penney’s, and Mr. John D. Rockefeller, Sr: American Standard Oil Co.  Each of these men believed in and recognized the importance of tithing and gave at least 1/10^th of their gross income back to God.  In each case, these men increased their giving from 10% up to 50% or 70% and each year their income increased.  (http://cogop.org/uploads/images/Stewardship/PDF/Seven_Reasons.pdf)

            Now I won’t argue that times are rough right now and have the very real probability of getting worse.  People have had cut backs in hours at work, seen their pay check reduced,  endured tax increases and watch as the price of everything seems to climb.  But the truth is how we give from our first fruits and view our giving, is a direct correlation to how we view the Lord and his measure in our lives. It becomes a matter of trust. Do we trust the Lord enough to allow Him to see to our needs?

            We live in a society which is changing every day.  Things that were considered immoral even twenty years ago are finding their way into our everyday lifestyles.  So when do we, as Christians, begin to stand up and say, “Wait a minute; this is wrong!”?  Are we waiting for our numbers to increase since “there is safety in numbers?”  We can’t.  I believe our “numbers” are currently falling as we give in to the social environment around us.  

            Daniel, many, many years ago was plunged into the Babylonian lifestyle through no fault of his own.  King Nebuchadnezzar planned on making Daniel, along with the other Jewish youths who were enslaved, a part of Babylonian culture by means of a name change, language and literature knowledge, new science, religion, and even food changes.  Daniel stood alone, held his ground and would not give in to those elements that went against what he knew from God’s word to be wrong.  Are we as quick to say no, and go against the grain?

            Tithing is another area where culturally, when we give a minimum of ten percent, we often deviate from the norm.  The mentality of our culture is “I earned this money, so it’s mine.”  Or, “with things so tight, there is no way I have any left over for God.”  The truth is we can have possessions, but everything we own still belongs to God.  I am not going to suggest that when we give, we will be given blessings by an abundance of wealth like the business men with whom I began my thoughts.  God has a variety of ways to bless us.  When we give, however, I sincerely believe he will take care of our needs.

            Farmers have the need to plant crops, harvest them and then put any leftovers in the barn for later in the season when the land is barren and unable to produce.  Our lives don’t have just one season a year to be fruitful.  We can be fruitful everyday of the year if we choose by giving of ourselves through our talents, resources, time, and our tithes.  When we are fruitful, we store up rewards in the storehouse of heaven.  It is here God can bless us.

            Scripture tells us to bring our tithes to the storehouse and then watch while God uses that gift to pour out blessings on us.  Do you believe God can bless your giving?  Do you believe it enough to give one tenth of your income week after week?  God says to test him on this.  Do you believe God can bless you enough to step out on a limb and test him?  I suggest when you do, you will see success.

 “’Bring all the tithes into the storehouse… and try Me now in this,’ says the Lord of hosts, ‘If I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it’” Malachi 3:10.

Little Miracles

    A friend shared recently “little miracles” which occurred during her day:  “I was asked unexpectedly to take a lady to a doctor appointment.  Understand,” she said, “this lady is a 350 pound invalid.”

“I picked her up as planned and got her all settled in the car and we drove to the doctor’s office.  Got her out of the car and situated in her wheelchair, but I discovered I was unable to push her up the ramp into the doctor’s office.  I was getting really frustrated and finally said, Lord please help me!  About that time a man drove up, also to see the doctor, and immediately took charge of the wheelchair!

“Then it was the return trip home and everything was fine until I had her out of the car and again into the wheelchair.  It had been raining and between the dirt and the lip on the sidewalk we were completely stuck and I again breathed a prayer:  Lord, please help me.  This isn’t working!  I no sooner had the prayer off my lips and the UPS truck drove up.  The driver again came to my rescue and pushed the wheelchair up the ramp so I could get her into the house.  God is good!”

I loved her story, because I think we forget that God is aware of all things we think, desire, are going through and what is already going to happen!  We get so wrapped up in our personal situations, it doesn’t occur to us the anxiety we are feeling isn’t necessary.  We have a God who can take the most complex circumstances or those which seem silly and insignificant to others (although not necessarily to us as it is happening!) and deal with it in ways our minds could never fathom!

Congress just passed the “fiscal cliff’ band aid, leaving us without a “fix” for the real problem.  Many will see taxes go up and cut backs in areas desperately needed, while the leaders in Washington DC bicker and fuss and refuse to deal with the issues in a Godly manner!  The issues that loomed before the band-aid, will just loom larger in a couple months leaving us wondering what in the world is going to happen to our pay checks, jobs, and life as we know it!

So where does this leave us?  Our world is abounding with sin and evil at every turn.  It offers escapes through substance abuse, moral degradation, violent video games, TV shows and other unthinkable diversions.  But there is no peace, only greater and greater stress and anxiety.  

There is another option.  We can choose the peace of Christ.  This includes accepting Christ as our Savior, trusting, and surrendering our lives to him fully.  When we do this we can allow God’s power to bring about His plan for our lives.  When we know His plan, everything else takes on a whole new perspective!  Just like the darkness behind the double rainbows in my photo, we are certain to have dark days, adversity and trials in our lives; but when we are in God, we can face those tribulations like the miracle and beauty of the rainbow in the knowledge that God stands with us and for us and can defeat any enemy we face.

“Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7).