The hardest thing to do sometimes is to trust God. Why? I believe that it is because we have been conditioned to live on our strength and perseverance. In fact, many parents teach their children not to trust anyone but themselves. Jesus sent the disciples out on a training mission of teaching the Good News and the BIGGEST lesson He wanted them to learn was….TRUSTING IN GOD!
Mark 6:7-9 (TNIV)
7 Calling the Twelve to him, he began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over evil spirits. 8 These were his instructions: “Take nothing for the journey except a staff–no bread, no bag, no money in your belts. 9 Wear sandals but not an extra shirt
You might be asking me how I know that Jesus was sending the disciples out on a “training mission”. Because at the last supper, He asks them if they lacked anything when He sent them out with nothing. They had to put their trust in God to live, to eat and survive each day. Their reply was that they did not lack anything! Yes, I believe that they learned to trust god for their provision in those early training missions. The BIGGEST lesson we can learn in life is to trust Jesus!
Luke 22:35-36 (TNIV)
35 Then Jesus asked them, “When I sent you without purse, bag or sandals, did you lack anything?” “Nothing,” they answered. 36 He said to them, “But now if you have a purse, take it, and also a bag; and if you don’t have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one.
I see all the time, people who have and want more. Yes, I also would like a newer car (mine is running over 300,000 miles now). But the truth is, we all have much more than we truly NEED and we should be appreciative. The best way to be appreciative, I believe, is to be generous with all the “more” we have.
Jesus’ principals are the principals we should live by:
1. Focus on God’s spiritual power: So often we focus on our own resourcefulness and will even “cut corners” or “take chances” with our ethics in order to get ahead. How about simply doing what is right in all things, meaning doing what God, indeed Jesus, would have us do? Wow, what a concept! I don’t need to badmouth someone at work to get ahead or break the law to make money. I don’t have to “stretch the truth” to acquire what I want. I don’t have to LIVE IN DEBT to keep up with the Jones’ (who are the Jones’ anyway?). I try hard to live a life of integrity, and no I don’t live in some huge house with all the frills. However….God always provides for me and my family. I am rich in many more ways that you can imagine. God can do so much more than we can imagine……focus on HIS spiritual power manifested in the decisions that you make…..not on your own.
2. Each day, trust God and go further and do more than your current supplies allow: I equate this to giving. I have known homeless people who apply this principal. They get some food and share it with someone else who is also hungry, Truth is….they always eat. In other ways, I see God calling us to be generous in His mission by giving off the top from our finances and resources. I give to my church to support its mission and vision in this community …to be a healing force and to help drive away the darkness surrounding us. The key is that I trust God to provide….AND HE DOES! My needs are taken care of and yes, I am praying that one day I will have a car with less than 300,000 miles on the it! LOL
3. Worry less and trust more: This is a tough principal because we often have a tendency to want to be in control….so we worry. What we are really worrying about is losing control of our situation. If we apply God’s wisdom, indeed the wisdom of Jesus, daily to our lives and live in relationship with Him, we start to see His presence in our lives. We start to see, just like these disciples did, that God, indeed Jesus……provides for our needs. They didn’t sit around and wait for it, and neither should we. There was action on their part and so should there be on ours. The key is….our needs are provided for. Be content with what has been provided.
4. Keep your lifestyle simple and efficient: It’s funny, a woman recently won the lottery, a couple million dollars I believe, and she was still drawing food stamps. She said in an interview that she still needed food stamps because she didn’t have a job and indeed….she had TWO houses to now care for. HELLO!!!!!!! Are you listening? Mam, you are not “EVEN” being simple and efficient…efficiently get rid of one of your houses (it’s hard to convince me that you need two) and you’ll have enough to eat! Seriously, we have become a people that requires cable TV, nice cars, and big houses and lot’s and lots of clothes. If you can afford these things, that is okay. But if you find yourself in need…….simplify and make your life more efficient by shedding some of the UNNEEDED (yes, I know you want them) stuff. Trust God….be happy with what you have and you might find that you are richer than you think.
5. When it’s all said and done, recognize that the most important achievements in our lives are achievements where our faith is tested, enlarged and affirmed: It’s nice to win the lottery….but it feels better to EARN what we own. You may disagree with me (I almost disagree with me, LOL. I sure want to win the lottery…but I got to play first…oh well). When we trust God by being in relationship with Him, indeed, being in relationship with Jesus, and we simply live our life in His light, always seeking to do what is right, living and growing in moral ways, our efforts are affirmed. We are often tested in this process….we find that we grow in this process and we also find that we are affirmed in this process by finding a true fulfillment that only comes from God, indeed, that only comes from Jesus.
Learn to TRUST Jesus and to live by His principals, just as Jesus instructed His disciples to do. And when it’s all said and done and Jesus asks, “Did you lack anything?”….your answer will easily be, “no, you provided all that I needed”. And Jesus may just say, “Well done good and faithful servant! Now you are ready for even more!”
Jan, this is such a thing I struggle with, I find I want to be in control. In my heart I KNOW God is in control, but my mind fights me in this, gotta try it out on my own first, THEN when it doesn’t work, I’ll go to God. Have to go to Him first each and every time! Good Word, I know many know exactly what this is all about!!
God bless you Sharyn 🙂 Most of us want to be in control. Keep clinging to Jesus 🙂