First, to update those who follow this blog and might not know, Grandpa did accept salvation, and went home to be with the Lord on March 31st… much, much faster than the doctors thought it would happen. It was difficult, as all deaths of loved ones are, but we are trusting that God knew the way to bring Grandpa to salvation, and that this was it.
On to other things…
I’m sure that I’m not the only one having to hold back a shriek when I see gasoline prices… or food prices. Actually, I KNOW I’m not. A recent ‘question of the day’ for a group I’m part of asked what five things had been on people’s minds. Every single last one of us mentioned finances.
The front page news doesn’t seem to be saying too much about the rising cost of groceries, but everyone else is talking about it. I have no idea if the economic indicators include the cost of gasoline and groceries when they figure out if we’re in a recession or not. All I know is that, recession or not, these two bills-that-aren’t-bills are (combined) now higher than my mortgage is every month. Not only are we paying more for gasoline, we’re also paying more for everything that requires gasoline to bring to our shelves. The falling value of the dollar is making us pay more for anything that comes from overseas, as well. It’s enough to scare almost anyone.
Right now, I am extremely grateful for everything God has shown me throughout my life about trusting Him. I’m even more grateful for the more recent lessons on trusting Him for provision. He’s shown me how worrying about money hampers our effectiveness for Him. He’s proven His faithfullness to us over and over again. In March of last year, I felt that God had revealed to me a reason why He was allowing so many Christians to go through difficult financial times. Looking back, I have to say that that revelation was right on – for me, at least. I have grown leaps and bounds in trusting Him in these last two years.
So here’s what I’m realizing this morning. What if, instead of two years of learning to trust God every week for the money to buy food and pay bills, we had instead had two more years of the plenty that we enjoyed three and four years ago? How would I be handling this?
I think that I’d be almost overwhelmed with worry right now, rather than resting in the knowledge that my God owns the cattle on a thousand hills.
Just the other day, I read Lamentations 3:22-23, which says:
“The LORD’S lovingkindnesses indeed never cease,
For His compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
Great is Your faithfulness.”
I’m very familiar with that verse, yet I always thought it applied to the forgiveness of sin – that every day is a fresh start.
But the other day, when I read it, I saw for the first time how it applies to God’s provision, too. It doesn’t matter if gas prices are higher tomorrow morning. It doesn’t matter if rice is being rationed in stores, and if it’s more expensive when I go to buy some tomorrow morning. It will affect me, but it’s not an excuse to allow the sins of worry and fear into my life.
Why? Because God’s faithfulness is new every morning, too!
Yeah, that’s great, Katie.
My realization a number of years ago (not that I don’t still battle the same things with money everyone does) was “provision is not a dollar amount.” In other words, God has promised to provide for us. Not, “God has promised $xxx per month/week/year for us.” So if what it takes to cover my provision rises, so does He! He’s never taxed or overwhelmed, and whatever my provision means for that day … it’s done. 🙂
Hmmm. I wonder why the rising cost of groceries is not in the news more compared to gas prices? After all, we can somewhat control how much we drive by taking fewer trips and combining errands, but we can’t just quit eating.
Your post is very encouraging. I’ve been thinking along the same lines. Especially as we’re looking forward to a brand new, but expensive!, addition to the family.
It occurred to me that we were living on much smaller salaries 5 years ago, and if God could provide for us back then, He can provide for us now. In fact, it would be pretty ungrateful not to trust Him to provide in the future, knowing how well He has provided already. In fact, it seems like the key to not-worrying isn’t just a matter of not thinking about problems, but of remembering how God has dealt with them in the past, and thanking Him for that. Reminds me of one of my favorite psalms – Psalm 103:1-5
I loved your take on Lamentations 3:22-23 too.