01/26/2023
How simple and trusting is our faith? My devotional reading this morning was focused on the simplicity of faith, and as I studied the truth of this concept I uncovered the depth of my similar belief. Yet, I began to see how I often followed the mantra I hear in commercials on television as they sing... "I want it now!" (NFL), or "It's mine!" (Diet Coke), or perhaps "I want it all!" (Dr. Pepper). I could see that I was applying this urgency to my relationship with the Lord, and wanted every truth in a scripture, every revelation of God, instantly... now!
“Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?”
Matthew 6:30 KJV
This scripture is the beginning of a powerful thought. It can be distilled into a couple of simple phrases... "ease up!", and "Trust God!" The truths that the Lord Jesus taught were straight forward and predicated on the fact that understanding, like our needs in life, would be provided precisely when we needed them.
“Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.”
Matthew 6:31-32 KJV
The key to our having a good life is unwavering trust and faith in God. We hear the words peace and joy throughout the Bible, but are we experiencing them to their fullest? We inject so much stress into our daily routines that really doesn't need to be there, and our inclination is to do the same in our relationship with the Lord.
If we would relax more when we are praying, and be at ease when we are in the presence of the Lord, we will find that He will sweep away our anxiety and provide for us... there will be time and silence in which we can hear His voice. The focus of this life isn't what we accumulate here... whether it be wealth, possessions, or frantic check marks on the scorecard of our faith; it is deep and abiding faith. I envision this as the deep slow moving current of a river as it approaches the sea, not the white churning rapids experienced in a narrow mountain gorge.
“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.”
Matthew 6:33-34 KJV
These verses imply calm and peace. They tell us to be at rest in God because, like the modern day saying... "I Got This"... God is saying He will handle the rough spots for us, and likewise, He will provide us the truth in scripture at exactly the moment we need it. After all, He often speaks to us that way.
Then there is the peace and joy of being content in the life God has given us. I paused and reflected on this thought that Oswald Chambers wrote...
"If we are not experiencing the "much more," it is because we are not obeying the life God has given us, we are taken up with confusing considerations." - Oswald Chambers
Sometimes we get messages from strange places, and as I read Chambers' thought, I recalled a line from a Crosby, Stills, and Nash song; "Love the one your with, love the one your with." This song deals with a man's love for a woman, but it holds true in our love of the life we have been given. We spend so much time and effort chasing after distant dreams and wants that we neglect to experience the joy in the lives and faith we have right in front of us. The Lord intends for us to be at peace in Him, and not to trouble ourselves with life at the detriment of our relationship with Him. He wants our attention to be on Him and not the frothing waters facing us. Trust... He will guide us through the most desperate times.
Prayer:
Father, help me to find rest in your provision, and strengthen my trust in you with each obstacle that I allow you to overcome. Lord, you are my strength, my comforter, and my provider in all things. I thank you for the truth in your Word and in the perfect timing of its revelation to me. In my moments of doubt you speak and bring calm back into my life. In the increasing quiet provided by my faith in you, I hear your voice more clearly and restrain myself from talking over you. You know my needs even before I do, and provide what is needed when it is needed. Thank you Father for your love, joy, and peace... remain with me always and give me comfort and contentment in this life you have laid out before me.
Rich Forbes