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.

Waiting on God - Day 3

Read: Psalm 104

I have always loved the Psalms and God's power and His creation never ceases to amaze me. The lady I am a caregiver for loves to walk. Almost every day we'll go for 1-2 mile walks around her neighborhood. Such an awesome way to see evidence of His creation! I've often asked how people can look at the world around us and say there isn't a God. That all of this around us, came from nowhere, all by itself. That, for me, is harder to believe than a Creator.

O Lord, how many are Your works!
In wisdom You have made them all;
The earth is full of your handiwork.
vs. 24 






Challenge: How does God take care of His creation? 
As soon as I read this question, my mind immediately went to verse 28, "You give to them, they gather it up; You open Your hand, they are satisfied with good." As I said in my previous post Sparrows, God provides and cares about even the littlest things in life. 
Verses 14 through 23 talk about what God gives to us. The little things that we don't even think about, God provides. The big things that constantly weigh on our mind, God provides.

Yesterday I started off my day on a down-note. For some reason I was in one of those "Debbie-Downer" moods. At a really young age I learned to hide my emotions though (that will be another blog post possibly) so not many people, if any, are able to tell my true feelings at a given time. I had gotten home at the end of the day, and was still not in a happy mood. Company was over, and that was all find and good, but I still wasn't "feeling it." I sent up a quick prayer asking God to get me out of that funk I was in because I knew it wasn't right. I texted a friend, and not 3 minutes later, they said they were on their way. I am so thankful for the way that God provides friends at just the right time. He knew what I needed.  
Thanks guys!