Waiting on God - Day 8

Read: Psalm 27

Word of God Speak  

I think this song goes well with v. 1-6 of this passage. It immediately came to mind this morning as I was reading.



Challenge: What kind of fears and doubts prevent believers from waiting on God? 

In the devotional series, the focus today was waiting on God by being strong and of good courage. Having the faith and the trust to place everything in God's hands and allow Him to work. For a little background story; I love visiting new churches. I love the different types of worship that goes on, the various types of music, and the preaching styles of different pastors. One particular week, a friend and I visited a Wednesday evening Bible study at a church. I had been there twice for regular services and wasn't impressed, but decided to try this Bible study. During the video message, it was made abundantly clear that one must give your whole self to God, but the man also said that if you give certain idols over to God, its a once and done thing. You give it to God and you never have to struggle with it again. Now, I don't know about you, but I'm human, and one of my faults is I like being in control. This poses a problem when I "give something to God." Do I trust Him? Yes, I do. But even so, I still feel like I'm an Indian Giver sometimes. I give, and then I take back, I give, and then I take back.

Back to the church. At the end of the video, we broke off into smaller groups of about 8-10 people. This was supposed to be a young adult class, but in reality it was a wacked out group of "single" people from 35-65+ years old. It was quite awkward since my friend and I were the only two people under the age of 30 in the room. During the little break-out session, we were supposed to talk about things that we've given over to God. Two or three people in my group shared saying they had give over these huge problems or idols in their life and they've never had to worry about them since. I was sitting there thinking, "holy cow, teach me!" I knew my turn was coming to share, and if I don't know people, I don't like sharing my personal struggles with them. So I simply said, being in college and paying for it myself, money and bills are things that I have trouble giving up control of. And then I admitted that while I've given it to God, sometimes I'll catch myself "taking it back" and worrying about it again, so I stop and pray and give it right back to God. A few of the "older" people of the group then proceeded to tell me that I wasn't trusting God enough and that I have a huge problem because I don't allow Him control over my finances. They said I need to sit back, relax and let God provide.

Is that wrong? Am I sinning because I don't trust God enough? Is it wrong that I have two jobs to pay for school and I'm not just sitting around letting God drop money into my lap?

Maybe I have a warped view of God providing. But I also think that God rewards those who work hard and honor Him in their every day lives. There are countless times when I have seen God work in my life, and seen how He provides for everything I need. Two jobs and nursing school doesn't really leave extra time for things, especially overtime hours. But there have been numerous occasions when I am down to the last minute on paying a bill, and somehow I have a few extra hours at work that week and I get paid just a little more than the bill amount. Or, I have needed something, like a bed last month, and because the guy accidentally sold mine, I got an $800 bed within my price range for $200. Because I was actively looking for a bed, and bargaining, and searching for deals; does that mean I don't trust God? No, I believe God gave me the brain and the money skills to be a good steward of my money. This means bargaining, sales shopping, and comparing prices. Do I trust God? Of course.

God provides... even a bed.