GIVE UNTIL IT HURTS!
Worship the Provider
“Get up, go to Zarephath that belongs to Sidon and stay there. Look, I have commanded a woman who is a widow to provide for you there.” 1 Kings 17:9 (HCSB)
God has an incredible way of putting us into situations where we learn to trust Him. This is certainly the case with Elijah. God has led him beside a brook that has dried up. He continues to provide for him by sending him to a widow that has enough provision for one more meal before she dies! Whoever said that God does not have a sense of humor?
However, when you stop to think about it, the faith upon which one chooses to build his life can only be forged in the heat of the moment when everything hangs in the balance. This is exactly what God does with Elijah. He places him in some incredible situations where the only salvation must come from God. There is simply no other explanation. God did it! At that point, we must be careful to worship God and not the provisions He has supplied.
It is so easy to take for granted the Provider and just celebrate the provisions. In fact, it is easy to think that we are something special because we have obtained them. If we are not humble, we can easily get to the place where we feel like the secure man. Secure in our own strength and not God’s. Edward Hardee gives a new take on the familiar classic the 23rd Psalm when we worship the provision instead of the Provider.
“The secure man’s 23rd Psalm says…
I am my provider, I shall not be in want
I have stored up hay if the grass is not green in the valley
I have a big canteen just in case the waters are dried up
I have a map so I can find the right path
Even if I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I have no fear… I have a living will, my funeral paid for and a healthy life insurance policy to care for my family.
I will fear no evil because I have theft alarms on my car and home and the police will be there in minutes.
My accountant and my broker, they comfort me.
I have prepared an investment portfolio that will put food on the table for years to come, even if my competitors should go belly up.
I have been anointed with ability and good planning.
Surely, income and dividends will follow me every month, without fail.
And I will dwell in my own home, not a nursing home, all the days of my life.”
As you spend your day, take time to praise the God from whom all blessings flow!
Today’s Prayer
Dear Lord,
Thank You for all the many wonderful things I have to fill up my time with an enriched life. Please forgive me for thinking that I did what it took to get to where I am. Help me to remember that You gave me life and the ability to live life with meaning. May I live trusting You and not the things which You have given. Thank You for all You have given. In Jesus Name, Amen.