Thursday, August 15, 2019
If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do. James 1:5-8
There is a certain abandoning of
ourselves – putting-aside our options when it comes to
really trusting God. The Lord is pleased
to give us wisdom and all the help we need.
Did you know that God isn’t into making us guess; He wants
us to have His wisdom. The King James
Version says God won’t upbraid when you ask for
wisdom. Literally translated from the
language of the New Testament, that means God won’t make fun at you when you ask. However, receiving that wisdom does come with
a price. If we are going to have His
wisdom, we must trade in ours. That means setting-aside our prerogatives and
agenda, and being obedient to Him, because trusting God, is all about Christian
(Christlike) living.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take. Proverbs 3:5-6
The personal cost of trading your wisdom for God’s is total
trust; and THAT is no small price! It’s easy to “trust in the Lord with all your
heart” when everything’s going your way.
But there are times when things come unglued, and you want to fall back
into a nice, safe, “hidey-place” all secure, safe, warm, and comfy.
Now, some of us even get that way before our world
comes apart. For me, it’s the limbo
place of not-knowing what’s coming; I just hate not knowing! Just tell me it’s the worst…or the best; just
don’t tell me to wait!
Many of you are aware that the throat cancer I went
through two summers ago qualified me for Veteran’s Benefits. It seems “Agent Orange” in Vietnam caught up
with my vocal cords, and while I was going through 28 rounds of radiation we
started receiving a temporary benefit until they could categorize my
status. Nearly a year went by and then Uncle
Sam called me in for that evaluation.
I was nervous about the limbo of not knowing what they
were going to say…maybe it would be that since the radiation worked, I don’t
need a pension? Or, were they going to
open Uncle Sam’s arms and pocketbook, making my retirement plans a lot easier? This is the kind of thing about which I
normally obsess. I go to sleep wondering. I wake up every hour worrying and get up in
the morning moody and distracted. Oh,
and by the way, that’s really good for a pastor who is supposed to be an
encourager to the flock to have faith; cast all your cares on Him…take it to
the cross and leave it there!
Well, here’s what happened. I confessed my unbelief to God; I gave it to
the Lord with a promise that I would take a deep breath and allow Him to take
over my worries. The appointment with
the VA happened, and the doctor told me that since this type of cancer, caught
this early, rarely returns, my disability had
disappeared. Now, I’m not the sharpest
knife in the drawer, but you don’t have to have an interpreter for this
one. No disability means no
pension…thank you for your service; you’re on your own!
After the appointment Elizabeth and I went to lunch at
Panera Bread and thanked God for His kindness to us and how He has provided for
us through the thick and thin of 5 decades of life together. Now that doesn’t sound like the success
story that usually goes along with a sermon; except for the fact that
success is not to be found in having a pension or not having pension, easy
retirement or pinching pennies. Success
in this answered prayer was that I didn’t think about the situation the rest of
the afternoon and night. In fact, I
didn’t think about the pension or no pension thing until the next afternoon when
I was trying to think deeply about what I’d tell the congregations I serve
about trusting in the Lord. That’s when
it hit me square in my dull little mind that I had just lived what we all need
to hear. I trusted Him, and
he overcame the biggest spiritual battle I ever have…my own lack of faith. He gave me faith to rest in His promises! So much better than any pension!
For You Today
Let’s let apostle Paul have the final word today:
Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7
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Title Image: Courtesy of Wikimedia
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Unless otherwise noted, Scripture used from The New Living Translation©
Unless otherwise noted, Scripture used from The New Living Translation©
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