“For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.” Matthew 18:20 (NIV)
Life can be hard sometimes. It’s been three weeks since I lost my income and while I had peace from God for about a month, in all honesty, I think I’ve misplaced it. It’s still there – God didn’t take it away. I think my focus shifted from trusting God will provide to panic that I have to do something. Doing something has never worked for me in the past, so why would I panic now and think it’s up to me to solve this issue? I guess because I’m human and when I take my focus off my Father, I start hearing the voice of the evil one, and he loves to mess with my mind.
However, there are some truths that would do me good to remember. First, God isn’t surprised that I don’t have replacement income on February 23rd. He wasn’t surprised I was going to lose my income on February 1st. In fact, He went so far as to provide an extra cushion for our family in December and January regarding our electric bill and another bill. When we were hit with a huge bill due to the record-breaking freezing temperatures, He already had the February (and probably March bill) covered. Now…It was easy for me to see God doing that and praise Him. In fact, I was annoyed having to write such a big check for the electric company, but I wasn’t anxious or worried – I simply gave Him all the glory and said “Thank You, God” for supplying ahead of time. Truth tells me that what He’s willing to do in one area, He is going to do in another area. If He will supply for a higher than usual electric bill, doesn’t that mean He cares about all of our bills?
Second, I would rather put my life and those of my loved ones in the hands of my Father who sees the big picture. That’s why what we define as problems aren’t even on God’s radar as issues. He saw the big picture before He decided to create Adam and He sees the big picture still now. He sees how all of our individual lives are interwoven into the only real story – that is His story and He knows not only when the story ends (at least as we know it here on Earth) but when eternity will begin. It’s similar to me knowing that all three of my children will grow up eventually. They will all experience learning how to walk, losing their teeth, and the process of adolescence (puberty). It’s traumatic and dramatic for the person going through it, but as a parent, I know it will one day end and they will then someday usher their own children through the same experiences.
Lastly, I need to continue to remind myself that God cares more about the journey and my response to it than He does about a job. My responsibility is to learn the lessons He wants me to learn, praise Him through the storms (challenges) and keep my focus off myself (stop being detoured) and start looking for ways to help others instead. Lastly, God doesn’t call us to live a life of isolation. When I’m feeling particularly down, I have a group of friends I can go to and ask for prayer – friends I know when they say they will pray for me, they won’t forget. I would encourage everyone to get a group of friends and pray for each other regularly. It makes a difference.
Come back next time for one more truth that God wants us to remember and practice regularly.
© Cheri Swalwell 2015