Opus 2023-003: Freaking or Faithing

We need to stop living by freak and start living by faith.

Assume the impossible, the same thing happens to two different people.  Let’s take something simple and low key in the scheme of things:  You, a father of three, lose your job.  What is the next step?  How do you respond?

One person lives by freak.  They get depressed.  They might start drinking.  They get angry and violent.  Or they might sit on the porch and stare at nothing.  They freak out.

The other lives by faith.  They assess that this is serious.  They might go through a time of self doubt and fear but they know they trust God.  Within a short time they commit things to prayer, share with others and begin looking for something new.

The responses are different.  The results are different.  Think of the tree of influence that spreads out from that one event.  How much damage can be done to family and friends when you freak out?  When the word spreads, what will that do for your future chances of finding more work?  Your response could close doors that might have been opened.  If God is trying to teach you something then there may be more persecution ahead.

If you are living by faith that gives God a chance to work some miracles.  Most of them will be small.  Think of the widow of Zarephath.  Doesn’t ring any bells?  The story starts in I Kings 17:8.   I am sure you have heard it.  Elijah was sent to Zarephath and told to stay with a widow who was destitute.  While he was there God supplied just enough flour and oil to feed them for the day.  God gave a promise.

(1Ki 17:14 NAS77) "For thus says the LORD God of Israel, 'The bowl of flour shall not be exhausted, nor shall the jar of oil be empty, until the day that the LORD sends rain on the face of the earth.'"

To be honest, this is the kind of promise I think God gives us more than the ones of overflowing bounty.  Why?  I think God reveals that in a prayer found in Proverbs.

(Pro 30:7-9 KJV)  Two things have I required of thee; deny me them not before I die:  Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me:  Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is the LORD? or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain.

Do yourself a favor.  Give God a chance to make the difference in your life.  He will provide on His timeline and in His way.

homo unius libri

Opus 19, He Giveth More Grace

Sunday we had a guest preacher.  He was having a great time preaching about grace.  He was in John 1 and quoted this verse:

(John 1:16 KJV)  And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.

He then was trying to encourage us about how grace would meet our needs.  I was with him.  Then he referred to the widow of Zarephath.  She is the one the prophet Elijah stayed with and eventually raised her son from the dead.  The preacher was talking about how we get grace on grace and he used as an example how the oil jar was full to the brim.  She would pour out what she needed and it would still be full to the brim.  Something struck me as wrong about that but I did not stand up and challenge him in the middle of the service.

Instead I went home and did some homework.  I might recommend that you do the same.  Listen with your Bible open and check out anything that sounds a little off.

I found nothing about an oil jar full to the brim.  Instead I found a much more realistic picture.  I found a jar that was never empty.

(1 Kings 17:16 KJV)  And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake by Elijah.

What difference does it make?  There are times when God provides the promise of plenty.

(Luke 6:38 KJV)  Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.

But in my life it is usually more a matter of never being exhausted.  I think that is a better picture of the walk of faith.  God will provide, not what I want, but what I need.  I tend to lean a little better that way.  Why do rich people tend to find it hard to follow Jesus?  Because they think they can provide for themselves. 

So don’t worry if your pots are not overflowing.  Those are messy to clean up anyway.  Rejoice that there will always be enough to take the next step.