God Provides

  I was chatting recently with a relative who shared the story about “God working in mysterious ways.”  Her daughter, a single mother, who lives in another state, recently found she had to move.  After finally finding a place to rent that accommodated herself and her children, she set to the task of job hunting.  She has an intense love for horses and discovered that her new landlord has stables with horses. The young mother found immediate work in a field she not only loved, but excelled!

In another situation, a young man I know, moved from a state in the west to one in the south and had not a clue where he would find work.  But again, God provided just what he needed even though it wasn’t what he expected.  

In still another case, a Pastor’s wife shared she sold a product, largely to her “sisters” in Christ at her church. (She didn’t sell anything during church; it was an outside the worship environment.)   She made the decision, however, to help those in her congregation with her products.  She said very often she never made a profit from her sales, but was able to just break even, which she considered a blessing both for her and for those she cared about.  She believes God provided for her needs to be able to share this blessing!

I’ve heard others share stories about having no funds to put groceries on the table, yet when it was time to shop, money would show up in the mailbox.  Or the different times cancer was sure to be an evil culprit in someone’s life, yet when they went to the doctor they were surprised and delighted to hear, “No cancer!”  

God does promise to take care of us.  It’s when we are at our lowest we recognize this most often.  When we are beyond our wits at how to cope, God comes through if we ask him.   Often when things are going smoothly, we forget to give God the credit, even though it’s due him.  We tend to take the credit ourselves, forgetting that “all things come from God,” including the ability to handle situations, talents, and even our very breath.

Our verse from Psalm 84:11  For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless; is a balm to our spirit because it puts things in perspective.  God is our Creator, our Father, the one who loves us more than we can imagine.  He wants only good for us and promises such, if only we love him in return.  

Our love is demonstrated when we praise and thank him, share the gospel with others, commune with him in prayer, listen to his words of wisdom, and spending time with other believers and with Him through his word.  I encourage you to reflect on your relationship with The Lord.  Can you recall times he’s provided when you least expected?  Is your heart thankful in both difficult times, as well as, in the good ones?

Photo Credit: Worship

Memories And Mercy

  Having a houseful of children, it was inevitable there would be disagreements!  It was interesting how during a disagreement the kids would take sides, and it wasn’t always with the same sibling!  As the “disagreement” went on, the voices became louder and stronger, as each tried to make their demands outweigh the other.  

        As a parent, there were times when I needed to step in and settle it, but each child had their own recollection of what the issue was, who said what, and how it should be dealt with.

What’s interesting is how years later, the memories of unique incidents are remembered differently.  When the incident involved more than one of the children, their memories are similar, but each has his own version.  They can laugh about it now and tease each other regardless of “their version” because the edge is removed and anger eliminated over time.  It no longer matters what really happened.  

Adults are no different.  It happens in marriages and it happens in church business meetings. What starts as a simple disagreement turns into a huge misunderstanding. The end result is the same---anger, and a recollection of information that is skewed depending on perspective.  Ultimately, like my children, emotions need to be reined in and after a cooling period, apologies are in order.  In discussions, at a later time, forgiveness is given and those who were angered, even if the disagreement remains, can again be friends.  

Historians even have a way of disagreeing over major events.  Causes of the Great Depression, why the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, the Holocaust, even the reasons for the American Civil War and others have created much controversy between the different factors.  Memories and interpretations of the different events over time, change as new evidence occurs or opinions are made, given certain information.

It also seems memories have a way of skewing information. Perhaps this is by God’s design.  He created us, and much like the way women forget the pain of childbirth, we are designed to have the edge of hostility removed from past personal situations, which allows us to rebuild relationships.

There are those in our lives who hurt us and then apologize; only to do the same thing again…..and again.  As Believers, we are told to forgive and do our best to reconcile.  But once a relationship is broken, it takes time to rebuild the trust that once was, because our memories remind us of the pain. Restoration is a process that doesn’t always happen immediately, and sometimes, depending on circumstances, restoration may not be possible, even if all hostility is removed and the edge of anger and hurt, replaced with forgiveness.

 

Each of us have experiences that have left us with reason to apologize.  This is apparent even in our spiritual lives because we are careful not to disclose everything about ourselves, even to our closest friend.  But God knows …..even our motives.  Only when we repent of our sins can we receive forgiveness.  

Because of God’s mercy and grace, he offers pardon and exoneration from our sins.  If you are struggling with forgiveness, I encourage you to give your anger and any unpleasant memories to God, and allow him to help you restore any broken relationships.

Photo Credit: Disagreements

Always Wanting More

  Contentment in whatever circumstance we are in, is sometimes hard to swallow!  I remember a time when two families lived in our house.  With the added family, there was quite an accumulation of “things.”  Some of these “things” overlapped and seemed more like clutter.  Cleaning was an issue because there just wasn’t enough space to put it all!  We had discussed building onto our home but finances and circumstances kept getting in the way.

Most days this situation didn’t concern me.  Then, there were days when I was terribly impatient to have the whole house finished!  This took time, planning and money.  When I got seriously impatient I had to have a talk with myself and try to remember the verse in God’s Word, which pushes against this idea:  I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.  Philippians 4:11.  

Aren’t we all like this?  When we become irritated with our circumstances, we lose focus of what is important.  I remember a trip out to San Francisco back in the late 1980’s.  We stayed at a nice hotel with very accommodating rooms.  After breakfast one morning, we ventured outside for a walk with the children.  

Across the street, a man with long, extremely matted hair; with frayed, dirty clothes, sat on the sidewalk with his back against a store wall.  A customer from the McDonald’s a few stores down came strolling by and tossed what was left of his sandwich and drink he’d purchased in the trash can not far from the apparently, homeless man.  The man stood up, walked over to the trash can, retrieved the discarded food and commenced eating.  Can we say I was appalled?  I was; beyond words, yet I couldn’t help feel sorry for him.  Clearly he was hungry.  Would I have done the same thing in similar circumstances?

When I considered my circumstances of our “live in family,” I am reminded of this mortifying picture witnessed in San Francisco, which happens all over our country---and even the world!  I lived in a comfortable, warm home.  I was surrounded with people I love and the little inconveniences that came with it were not so bad when you considered the flip side of these issues.  

My home could have been drafty, run down and unlivable.  Those around me could have been of ill repute and unloving, non-working and just not nice people!  I needed to remind myself that people really lived in the earlier circumstance I described—and in even worse situations.  It’s when I considered this that I became ashamed of my impatience.  Life is good.  I had every reason, and then some, to be content!

As we begin this New Year, look around your home.  Are there times when you wish for something better?  There is no shame in that, but being mindful of those who are in worse circumstances than our own tend to bring our own conditions into proper perspective.  God is good, and we don’t need high priced, luxurious material goods to be happy.  Contentment can be found in our faith, family, friends, and even our work, when it provides the means to meet the needs of our families.

Blessings to you in this new year: 2025!

Photo: Wanting More