God supplies our needs

I have found myself getting very discouraged recently because Thanksgiving and Christmas are coming.  Don't take me wrong, I love Thanksgiving and Christmas, anyone that knows me, knows that; however, funds have been scarce and I am not going to be able to do for others like I usually like to do and it discourages me.  I like to cook a Thanksgiving dinner and invite people from church over that do not have family to share the holiday with and I like to give as many people as possible something for Christmas, but it's not looking like I am going to be able to do much of either. 

While my human nature wants to have a two month-long pity party, the Holy Spirit directed me to
I Kings 17: 10-16, the story of the widow woman.  In this story, the prophet Elijah is directed by God to go to the city of Zarephath and find a widow woman.  When Elijah reached the city, he found the widow woman collecting sticks and he asked her to fetch him some water and bring him a morsel of bread.  The widow told Elijah that she did not have a cake, but just enough meal and oil to feed her and her son one more time before they died.  Elijah still requested that she make him a cake first and then feed herself and her son, then he added, "For thus saith the Lord God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the Lord sendeth rain upon the earth." 

If a widow woman who had nothing but a little meal and oil left could trust God without question and make what she thought was the last cake for a stranger, then why am I so discouraged when it looks like I don't have enough?  Why do I tend to sometimes question God when the widow woman did not question God at all?  Why can't I trust God to supply my needs?  Why do I let circumstances get the best of me when I have seen God miraculously provide many times before?  I am human, and even though my heart knows God will provide, my head and my circumstances tell me otherwise.

I wrestled with this posting for several days and I started not to post this blog because I know this is not the right way to feel, I should be stronger than this. But I wanted to post this blog because, like you, I am a single parent and like you, I am human.  I want you to know that I know exactly how you feel because I often feel the same way.  Even though I try to be an encouragement to you, I have days when I am not very encouraged.  Even though I try to show you how little things in our lives can make more sense when seen through God's eyes, many times it's hard for me to make sense of things in my life. 

Aren't you glad God is not like us?  He is a just and all powerful God, yet not without feelings for us and how we feel.  He hurts when we hurt, He sorrows when we sorrow, He is happy when we are happy.  The Bible tells us that He sees when the sparrow falls.  If God watches over a little bird, how can we question whether He is watching over us or not? 

Don't forget that God is our provider and He loves us more than anyone ever could.  Let's determine to be thankful for what we have and not let circumstances dictate our outlook on life.

Happy holidays!

We all want what we can't have

If I had to pick one person that I thought would never want for more, it would be Eve.  However, Eve wanted what she could not have and things were never the same.  Imagine with me for a minute what it must have been like living in the Garden of Eden.  I picture the garden as being full of flowers (especially roses), waterfalls, luscious green grass and trees, and a climate between 65 - 75 degrees.  God made sure Adam and Eve had everything they needed.  All of their food was provided.  They did not need air-conditioners or heaters because the temperature was always just right.  They did not need jobs because everything was provided for them.  They did not need beds because the grass was luscious and soft (not to mention they did not have back problems!).  And Adam did not need a couch because they never got into a fight.  But the most amazing thing of all was that God walked with them in the cool of every evening!

One day when Eve was walking through the garden, she came to the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.  Adam and Eve had been warned by God to stay away from that tree and not to touch or eat of it or they would die. It is not stated how or why Eve came upon the tree of knowledge of good and evil, but Satan was there waiting for her in the form of a serpent.  Eve told the serpent that God warned them to not to eat or touch of the tree of knowledge of good and evil and if they did, they would die.  Satan told Eve that if she ate from that tree, she would be as gods, knowing good and evil.  Eve looked at the tree and saw that the fruit was beautiful.  Perhaps she even touched it and smelled it before she actually took the fruit, but it was not the actual look or smell of the fruit that made Eve take it, it was the fact that Satan told her she would become as gods.  Eve wanted something more even though she had everything.

Maybe you are looking at the grass on the other side of the fence today thinking things would be so much better if you could just get over the fence, when in fact you have everything you really need on this side of the fence.  Sure, there is nothing wrong with dreaming, but there is something wrong with wanting something we are not meant to have or something that we know is wrong.  The grass is not always greener on the other side.  My pastor has said many times that the grass that looks so green on the other side usually turns out to be artificial turf!  We need to learn to be content with what God has given us, and in turn teach our children to be content with what God has given them.  God does not give hand me downs, but He also does not give us more than we can handle.  God sees the future and He knows in His great wisdom what we need at that moment.

Let's determine to be content with what God has given us.  We will find that our children are more rested and at peace when we are content.

Hope you have a day full of content!