worry

the Provider

Posted on by Grace Day

Remember the story of “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens? In it Mr. Scrooge is called “the founder of the feast” by Bob Cratchit. This sentiment is a bit sarcastic given that Mr. Scrooge lived up to his name – he wasn’t really a very generous provider at all. (well, until the end when he had a change of heart) Which begs the question for me and perhaps for you too, dear readers – who is my provider? Do I look to myself? Do I look to others? Do I count on the government to meet my needs?

Circumstances are always subject to change as this world is filled with uncertainty. Must be why the saying “Nothing is certain but death and taxes” is still with us and still relevant. Who will provide our human needs has always been a central question for us from the beginning of our existence. God was the first Provider. He created Adam and Eve and placed them in a beautiful garden that He had created. God provided all their needs until they became discontent, chose their own way and were put out of the garden. Even then, it was God who provided them clothing before they left their home.

“The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them.” (Genesis 3:21)

God has a history of providing for us, especially at those times when we are unable to provide for ourselves that which we most need. Consider Abraham and his trip up the mountain with his son, Isaac. They were on their way to make a sacrifice to God BUT – something essential was missing – the actual sacrifice itself. Still Abraham kept on going up the mountain in faith.

“Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. . . . Isaac said, ‘but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?’ Abraham answered, ‘God Himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.’ And the two of them went on together.” (Genesis 22:6-8)

Now God had told Abraham to take Isaac up the mountain and to sacrifice him there. BUT – at the last moment, God called to Abraham to stop, saying –

” ‘Do not lay a hand on the boy,’ He said. ‘Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from Me your son, your only son.’ Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called that place The Lord Will Provide. And to this day it is said, ‘On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.’ ” (Genesis 22:12-14)

God was Abraham’s Provider then. He was the Israelites’ Provider for forty years. While the Israelites were wandering in the desert, God provided them with manna new every morning to sustain them on their journey to the Promised Land. God is my Provider now, today and every day. He is yours too. We have this reminder from Paul in his letter to the church at Philippi –

“And my God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:19)

I don’t need to waste time worrying or to be filled with fear. My Heavenly Father is more than able to take care of me. In fact, Paul wrote these words in his letter to the church at Corinth –

“And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.” (2 Corinthians 9:8)

Now that is a very reassuring promise. God doesn’t want me or you either, to spend our days consumed with anxiety, worry, fear and stress. Jesus spoke very clearly about this, saying to those He was teaching –

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? . . . Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? . . . So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your Heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” (Matthew 6:25-34)

Those last words I have no trouble believing and I bet you don’t either. Each day seems to contain some measure of trouble, challenge, hardship, suffering, pain or loss. Some days just have more than others. BUT – even in the worst of circumstances, God shows up as my Provider. His promise is the same for you, too. King David experienced the worst of times and yet during those dangerous and difficult times He wrote these words –

“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. . . . Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.” (Psalm 23:1 & 4-5)

Even in the most dire of circumstances, “the valley of the shadow of death” and “in the presence of his enemies” – King David experienced God’s not just sufficient, but abundant provision. David acknowledged that his “cup overflowed.”

And if I’m honest, I must admit that mine does too. “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” (James 1:17) I am the recipient of so many of God’s “good and perfect gifts” everyday that it is impossible not to be filled with gratitude for such undeserved favor.

My Heavenly Father’s most wonderful gifts aren’t even material ones. He gives me His comfort, His peace, His mercy, His hope, His healing, His protection – the list is endless, as is my Heavenly Father’s provision for me.

My God is many things. My God is all things to me. He is my Creator, Sustainer, Savior, Rescuer, Redeemer, Restorer, Lord, King, Defender, Healer, Protector – the One who has my name engraved on His palms, the One who rejoices over me with singing – the One who knows the way that I take – the One who provides for me “immeasurably more than all I ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within me” (Ephesians 3:20) – my Heavenly Father – the Provider of all that I will ever need.

“His divine power has given us (me and you) everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness.” (2 Peter 1:3)

sincerely, Grace Day

an issue of trust

Posted on by Grace Day

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” (Hebrews 12:1)

Seems like it wasn’t that long ago I was writing about walking weighted – walking while wearing a weighted vest. And now I am thinking about God’s direction to throw things off as I run this life race in order that I might travel light, unencumbered by what is unnecessary. Those “things” would be anything that would hinder me or hold me back from running this life race well – this race that God has marked out for me to run.

So why do I hold onto what I don’t need, those things that weigh me down unnecessarily? Is it just coincidence that the current chapter in a book my friends and I are reading is titled “Simplicity”? This chapter is challenging each of us to clear away the clutter in our homes and in our lives, thereby simplifying our lives and making room for what is truly important.

As I sort through some of my possessions, I realize that for me this might come down to an issue of trust. Is my trust in all the “stuff” that I own, or is my trust in God? I worry that I might need a particular item at some point in the future, so I am reluctant to part with said item. After all, it will save me the cost of buying a new one of whatever it is when the need arises. So the problem seems to be that I’m afraid I won’t have what I need when I need it and I don’t trust my Heavenly Father to provide for me. God’s Word clearly says otherwise –

“And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.” (2 Corinthians 9:8)

So, do I believe Him? That’s a lot of “all”s – four to be exact. If I believe this promise from God’s word, then I can let go of all the stuff I’m hanging onto and carrying around with me “just in case” I might need it someday. Although, in my defense, where clothes are concerned, I firmly believe that everything comes back into style if I will just hang onto it long enough. (even bellbottoms) That being said, maybe I should take my Heavenly Father at His word. Jesus was pretty clear about this issue of worry, provision and trust. He said –

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. . . . Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your Heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? . . . Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” (Matthew 6:25-34)

I don’t need to spend my time, my days and my nights consumed with worry. If I truly trust God to provide for me in the future, maybe I can part with the overabundance of possessions that fill my spaces and weigh me down in the present as I travel through this life. Although I don’t currently have any storage units, I pass by plenty of these places in my daily travels. They always remind me of the guy in the Bible parable who built the “bigger barns” so he had a place to store all the excess that he had accumulated. Having done this, he was satisfied BUT the very same day this happened –

“But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God.” (Luke 12:20-21)

Now that’s a wakeup call for sure! I need to ask myself – what am I collecting? and where am I storing it? Jesus has some guidance for me, and for anyone of us, in this area. He said –

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:19-21)

Isn’t that the truth? These “earthly treasures” really don’t hold much value, nothing that lasts anyway. They say a new car depreciates drastically the minute you drive it off the lot. Clothes go “out of style” or out of current fashion very quickly because clothing companies want you not to be satisfied with what you have BUT to continue endlessly updating your wardrobe. The only thing that gets outdated faster than fashion is electronics. Phones, computers and such are outdated and obsolete before anyone even has the time to figure out how to operate their current version. (how many “windows” are there now?)

I’m glad heaven has a secure storage space, a place big enough to accommodate whatever treasures I wish to accumulate. Rather than holding onto temporal treasures, which as it turns out, aren’t really treasures at all because they end up having no lasting value, I want to trust that God is keeping secure for me any treasures I have waiting for me in heaven. I agree with Paul who said this –

“I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him for that day.” (2 Timothy 1:12)

God is able to guard my heavenly treasure (which probably doesn’t need a lot of guarding because there are no moths, no rust and no thieves) and keep it safe for me until “that day” when I arrive home. And I bet I know just where my Heavenly Father is storing all my heavenly stuff. Jesus gives me this clue –

“In My Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with Me that you also may be where I am.” (John 14:2-3)

So Jesus is preparing a room for me – a space that can hold secure all my treasure, and in a happy twist – it is Jesus who IS my treasure! His presence is the reward that can’t be stolen or corrupted or taken away from me by anyone or anything. I am assured of this in Romans –

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? . . . No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us (me and you too, dear readers) from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:35-39)

Jesus said that I get to be where He is – with Him – for eternity! I don’t need to store up stuff here. I won’t need it. I have an imperishable treasure waiting for me in heaven. I am free to let go of all the things that clutter my life, distract me or weigh me down here on earth. My Heavenly Father provides all I need for today and for eternity.

“Your mercies are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.” (Lamentations 3:23)

“No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him.” (1 Corinthians 2:9)

sincerely, Grace Day

it was the sunflowers

Posted on by Grace Day

I suspected the sunflowers from the very beginning, and in the end, it turned out to be true, my suspicions proved to be correct – it had been the sunflowers all along. Now sunflowers probably seem like they should be the least likely suspects when any type of wrongdoing or crime occurs. After all, they are so cheerful. They don’t seem capable of deceit or malice of any kind. At least that’s what I’ve always thought, until now. I believed sunflowers to be a trustworthy flower.

But that all changed with tonight’s unexpected mystery drama. It started as an ordinary errand – me running into Meijer to pick up just a few things before heading home. It ended with me at the self-checkout scanner, discovering that I no longer had my credit card in my hand. Ok, that requires some explanation.

I entered the store, car keys and credit card in hand. Normally those two items are in a pocket of whatever I’m wearing at the moment, but my attire was void of pockets and it was just a quick stop, not major grocery shopping. I made my rounds quickly and was headed for self-checkout. At this point I passed the flower/plant area located right across from the checkout and seeing a large selection of beautiful sunflowers there, I decided to treat myself to some sunflowers to brighten my kitchen and keep me company. (sunflowers are supposed to be good company, being known as a friendly flower and all)

So I began pulling out different bunches of sunflowers from the black buckets of water that held them, so as to better compare the blooms and decide which bouquet I wanted to take home. My decision finally made after some brief agonizing over which was the prettiest, the freshest, of all the bunches of sunflowers, I proceeded to the checkout line. There I relaxed, pleased with my impulse purchase, as well as with the speed with which I had navigated my way through the large store, successfully selecting all the items on my list, thereby completing my task. I could cross it off my to-do list. However, my relaxed and self-satisfied state of being was abruptly cut short.

Imagine my shock when I wheeled my cart up to the scanner and discovered only my car keys in my left hand, no credit card! I could not check out. I needed to backtrack, to retrace my steps in order to see where I had dropped my card. Of course, the sunflowers were my first stop, but I did not find my card there. So next I went to produce, specifically the strawberries. There I had had a brief conversation with a stranger, a fellow shopper. We lamented together the lower quality and the higher price of the strawberries currently, as they are not really “in season” anymore.

She and her husband were still in this area as I sped through, and she became aware of my situation. She was very kind and concerned, looking with me in the area where we had stood and talked. Then I was off to continue my reverse route in the store. Not finding my card, I began to worry that it would fall into unscrupulous hands who would then use it to purchase all kinds of things that I could in no way afford. I thought of the melting ice cream in my shopping cart. (priorities?) I thought about checking with the store to see if a good Samaritan had perhaps found my card and turned it in.

Then I came to my senses and made a plan. Leaving my cart at the checkout place in the care of an attendant, I went to my car to get my phone and a different credit card. I called to report my card lost and put a “lock” on it. Then I got back in an even longer line to check out. After checking out, I couldn’t give up the feeling that my card was still somewhere in the store, as yet undiscovered. So I decided to take one last tour of the store in search of my lost card.

This time my search was calmer because my card was already “locked”, no one could use it. I definitely got my steps in as I walked again everywhere I had been previously. You can cover a lot of ground in big stores like Meijer. I’ll never know my step count because I don’t have one of those devices, but I’m guessing it would have been an impressive number if a count were kept. So I’ll count extra steps as an extra blessing for the day.

Then, because my eyes were on the ground, I found a penny! Somehow that’s always a big deal to me. Don’t ask me why, must be a childhood thing. Also, I ran into the kind lady and her husband again, as they were still in the store. I thanked her and assured her that things were taken care of even though I was still searching. This time I went in the order in which I had shopped, instead of the reverse order, which means my very last stop of my very last search, was – you guessed it – the sunflowers.

I scanned the floor and the tables on which the black buckets of water filled with the bouquets of fresh flowers sat. I had looked into the two buckets holding the sunflowers previously, but this time I stuck my hand down into the water among the stalks of the sunflowers. Nothing in the first bucket, BUT – in the second bucket as I felt around, reaching all the way to the bottom of the bucket, I felt it! My credit card! I was right all along. It had slipped out of my hand when I was pulling out sunflowers to examine before deciding which ones I wanted to buy. This was the last thing I did before entering the checkout line.

The sunflowers were harboring, actually hiding my credit card all this time. But they did proffer a peace offering of sorts. When I pulled my credit card out of the water, a packet of that stuff you put in the water to keep your flowers fresh longer, came out with it! The sunflowers I had purchased, didn’t have one of those packets attached, so perhaps this was their attempt at appeasement, their apology for pick pocketing my credit card? (and for melting my ice cream, for causing me stress, panic and worry)

As I write this, the guilty sunflowers have been cut down to size and are sitting in a ball jar on my kitchen table. They certainly are a cheerful, friendly flower but I don’t know if I can ever look at them the same way again. We’ll see how I feel about them in the morning. Right now they remind me of the short-lived panic I experienced when I realized I had lost my credit card. How easily my peace and composure were shattered – until I came to my senses and realized there were readily available solutions to this problem. I was not in danger, no one was hurt.

It was a minor, unexpected inconvenience – a mystery that was rather quickly solved. My Heavenly Father is with me in the deep hurts and tough circumstances of this life. But He also cares about my mundane mystery of the missing credit card – He provided the kindness of a stranger, a penny, extra steps and that stuff for the water to help keep my guilty sunflowers living and lovely longer. (although, if I had not decided last minute to buy sunflowers, none of this would have happened – maybe there’s something to be said for sticking to one’s list with no deviation? – no, what fun would that be?)

I sure was filled with all kinds of worry and panic though, when I first realized my credit card was no longer in my hand but somewhere in the very large, very full of people store. In fact, I was surprised at how quickly I became fearful and anxious. And in this life, there is always something, usually many things, that can make you and me fearful and anxious. But our Heavenly Father does not want us to live full of fear and worry. Jesus told us this –

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your Heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your Heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” (Matthew 6:25-34)

The sunflowers sitting on my kitchen table are God’s “lilies of the field”, clothed in perfect splendor. When I look at my sunflowers, instead of remembering my temporarily misplaced credit card and my accompanying panic and worry – I will enjoy their cheerful beauty and the peace their presence brings me because they proclaim God’s infinite care for all of His creation, including me. God takes care of them. He is taking care of me day by day.

It was the sunflowers who hid my credit card – it is the sunflowers who shout God’s goodness and glory from my kitchen table –

sincerely, Grace Day