Archive for November, 2009
Nov
23
I’ve been thinking a lot about what it looks like to actually live out Matthew 6:25-34.
25 “That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? 27 Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?
28 “And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, 29 yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. 30 And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?
31 “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ 32 These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. 33 Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.
34 “So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.
We are at a place in our lives where we desperately need to be living one day at a time. I suppose a lot of us are these days… To look ahead even one week is enough to set us up for a nervous breakdown. God clearly tells us to not do what comes most naturally to us. Don’t look around at these seemingly impassable mountains in our lives and worry about how we will get over them. He doesn’t stop there, however. He tells us what we should be focusing on instead… 33 Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. What is that supposed to mean?
I feel like that’s a lesson God has been teaching me lately. Last week, we received a card from a friend in the mail with $160 in it, and that same night, someone slipped an anonymous $500 gift under our door! Our first thought was to praise God for meeting our earthly needs. Without asking Him what His plans were for that money (after all, He was the One Who gave it to us… perhaps He had a reason?), we had planned what we would use it for. We were going to get caught up on our bills, and save a bit for our rent bill coming due. However, the next morning , our van wouldn’t start. We took it in to the shop, and it needed $584 of work done. So that’s what it was for.
I drove around with the service guy, trying to get our van to reenact a problem (does that ever work?? I’m thinking not) and during the course of our conversation I mentioned that Sten-Erik was a seminary student. He said he really admired Sten-Erik for doing that and I told him we really didn’t have a choice in the matter… when God tells you to do something, you better do it! There was a short moment of silence, after which he said, “I wish God would make the car make this noise!” 🙂 A seemingly stupid conversation I guess…
Later, he called and talked to Sten-Erik for a while about his life, and how fear was holding him back from following God. They had a really good talk. Maybe my conversation hadn’t been stupid after all… perhaps it had started him thinking about his life. What if our van broke down simply to get us to the dealership to talk to him?
Our internet has been having problems at our house for a while and they sent out a repairman the other day. During the conversation he had with Sten-Erik, he asked what Sten thought about the 2012 movie and if there was any truth to it. It was a perfect opening, and as they walked to the car they had a great talk during which Sten shared the gospel. What if our internet wasn’t working simply to bring the repairman here to hear the gospel?
I want to go through life looking for kingdom opportunities to invest in. How many divine appointments have I missed because I’m choosing to worry about things I have no control over? There are people on these impassable mountains in my life, and if I can stop worrying about the stupid mountains, my focus will change so I can see those people. Perhaps in part, that’s what kingdom living is about. Choosing to leave the fear and worry, and the hows and whys of passing through those mountains up to God, and instead seeing and investing in the lives of the people He’s placed on those mountains.
Nov
14
The whole purpose of this blog is to give glory to God for His work in my life, and that of my family. I want to be able to encourage and comfort others with the same comfort God has given me.
All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us. For the more we suffer for Christ, the more God will shower us with his comfort through Christ. Even when we are weighed down with troubles, it is for your comfort and salvation! For when we ourselves are comforted, we will certainly comfort you. Then you can patiently endure the same things we suffer. We are confident that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in the comfort God gives us. ~ 1 Corinthians 1:3-7
From the feedback I’ve been getting regarding my posts, my goal was being accomplished, praise God! Several months ago, Sten-Erik received a hurtful comment on one of his blog entries. I won’t ever forget receiving it. We were at the symphony, thanks to free tickets through the seminary, and were enjoying a rare evening alone. We were sitting in box seats with a great view of the performance, and were looking forward to hearing the last number… Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture, with a full chorale. As the music began, we sat and took it all in. It was glorious! During the first part of the song, Sten-Erik’s cell phone buzzed. He checked it to make sure it wasn’t a problem at home with the girls. He read the message, and looked a bit sick as he handed me the phone. I read it, and my stomach turned.
As far as we were concerned, the concert had come to a screeching halt. We allowed an anonymous person’s opinion to ruin the night, and totally missed the one number we were so looking forward to hearing. We sat lost in thought, oblivious to the music around us.
As I shared my struggle with this message the next day with some close friends, I said, “You know what this makes me want to do? Not tell people what God is doing.” For more on this, please read Sten-Erik’s blog entry…
The months that followed felt different. God was still providing, but I felt a distance there that wasn’t there before. It really bothered me and I racked my brain, trying to figure out where we went wrong.
Last week, as I took Kaylee (a precious little girl I babysit) outside to drop her off, her mom asked me what was wrong. I told her we just had a lot of bills going unpaid, but I was sure something would work out. She looked at me with a worried expression and said, “Oh no! Has God stopped providing for you?” It was a knife in my heart. As far as everyone knew, our silence might indicate that He had! We had not blogged since receiving that comment. I was stunned. I was so sad that we had let one anonymous comment overshadow our desire to make God’s glory known.
I just want to give Him praise for the many ways He has provided for us this month! The most recent being a check from a friend and $500 anonymously slipped under our door tonight!! He IS ever faithful. It certainly hasn’t been easy, but He has never left us alone.