Where Is Your Trust?

Last month our family made a move across the United States. To two different, rather expensive areas. I moved to Upstate New York while my husband moved to Washington DC.

Of all the moves we've made in the past few years, this has been the most challenging. Finances have been tight. Issues and roadblocks have arisen. It's been a battle from day one.

In the process, countenances have dropped. I had several people ask if I was okay on Sunday after church. Maybe my blank stare concerned them... But yes, I am okay.

Why? Because my trust isn't in my bank account or my husband's employer or the vehicle that gets us back and forth. My trust is in Jehovah Jireh, the Lord God of heaven and earth, Jesus, my Salvation.

While reading Psalm 33 this morning, I came across this (verses 13-22):

The Lord looks from heaven;
He sees all the sons of men.
From the place of His dwelling He looks
On all the inhabitants of the earth;
He fashions their hearts individually;
He considers all their works.

God knows each and every one of us individually. He created our hearts. He knows our most intimate places and thoughts. He considers all that we do and say in this lifetime. So why do we question if He knows our needs?

No king is saved by the multitude of an army;
A mighty man is not delivered by great strength.
A horse is a vain hope for safety;
Neither shall it deliver any by its great strength.

An army can't save a king. Only God can. Strength can't deliver a mighty man. Only God can. There is no safety in a horse. It's not strong enough to save, either. Only Jesus saves. There is nothing we can say or do in and of ourselves that can save us on this earth. Only Jesus can do that. So why do we continue to strive in the midst of a struggle? Why do we thrash and grit our teeth and try to continue in our own strength when God doesn't come through in our pitiful timing?

Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him,
On those who hope in His mercy,
To deliver their soul from death,
And to keep them alive in famine.

When we fear the Lord, when we walk in His salvation, He keeps a close eye on us. He will deliver us from whatever lies in wait for our lives. Depression. Anxiety. Financial hardship. Abuse. The car accident around the corner. The chimney fire waiting to break out. These are not things to fear or allow to cling to us. We are set free by Jesus! He delivers our soul from death. He keeps us alive (and provides our needs) in times of famine.

Our soul waits for the Lord;
He is our help and our shield.
For our heart shall rejoice in Him,
Because we have trusted in His holy name.
Let Your mercy, O Lord, be upon us,
Just as we hope in You.

Is your soul waiting for the Lord? Are you watching for His cue? Are you listening for his response? Are you crying out to the One who can answer?

Is Jesus your help and your shield? Or are you looking for kings and strong men and horses to bail you out? Who are you leaning on? Who are you looking to for the solution to your present circumstance? The things of this earth are only temporary. The kingdom of God is eternal.

Is your heart rejoicing in God? Are you able to sing in the morning and the evening because you trust His holy name?

Let God's mercy be upon you. Hope in Him. He is able to meet your needs inside and out. He is able to provide what the world can't give. Let God be your trust and your shield today.

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;
and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
~ Philippians 4:6-7

Are You Willing to Follow God's Lead?

If God asked you to leave your hometown and your family to join Him on the road of life, would you be willing to follow His lead?

As many of you know, in 2008, God asked my husband and I to do exactly that. We'd been struggling financially for years. Until one day, Vic made one phone call that changed our lives. Thankfully, we said, "Here we are, Lord. Send us."

Maybe a career isn't the call one would expect to receive from God. Naturally,our first thoughts turn toward ministry, missions, or the like. But what if your career was your ministry?

Over the course of the past year, my husband has had numerous opportunities to speak into the lives of the men (and occasionally the women) he works with. If he hadn't said yes to God in 2008, the opportunity to reach these particular people may not have happened.

How does one walk in faith when the call of God takes you down roads you'd never imagine on your own? Here are a few pointers:

1. Trust God with all of your heart. There will be bumps and potholes along the way. When we put our trust in people or in our vehicles, we will always find someone who could care less if we reach our destination or a gas tank will fall off at the most inopportune time. Trusting God above all else is the only answer. He will provide for our needs as we focus on His will.

2. Don't depend on understanding everything. Sometimes, God is at work when the tunnel is dark and you're not sure where you're going. Or if there will be light again. Sometimes, patience is required while you wait for an answer to arrive. Jesus promised us that if we seek, we will find. If we knock, a door will open. Our own understanding is limited, but with God, all things are possible.

3. Acknowledge the Lord in everything. When that gas tank falls off and someone blesses you with a free or cheaper-than-usual vehicle, bless the Lord. When one church snubs you and another welcomes you in like you're family, praise God. When your tax return is smaller than you expected, and the company offers you an increase in pay, thank Jehovah Jireh, your provider.

4. Let God direct your path. We never know where we're going next. Until it's time to go. Like, "Hey, we're sending you to New Mexico in two weeks." Praise God. He knows exactly where He wants us to be at all times. When we trust His guidance, we have no need to worry or be anxious. Instead, we make our requests known to God and trust that His will is better than our own. So far, we've never been disappointed. Even if we don't see why He sent us in a particular direction until after the fact.

Not Enough Money to Go Around

(Disappointment Part Two)

"I can't seem to get a break."
"When it rains, it pours."
"Where's my blessing?"
"I've done everything I know I'm supposed to do, so why can't I catch a break?"

Have you ever uttered one of these quips about the drudgery of everyday life and financial hardship? I know I have.

But I've also learned some things about God in the midst of these disappointments, as well.

It seems many are facing financial hardship lately. Whether it's the gas prices, the grocery prices, the lack of income, or the quality (or lack thereof) of our vehicles, our economy doesn't seem to balance. And it's usually in the red.

I've been known to break into the piggy bank when this occurs. But I shouldn't have to, right? Because, after all, God promises...

"Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?
For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things." ~ Matthew 6:25,32

My husband worked as a union carpenter for the first ten years of our marriage. Work was on-again, off-again. He'd work overtime during the summer and be laid off most of the winter. Eventually, the economy started to spiral downhill, and work became even more scarce. What was God's plan?

The word says that God's children will not beg bread. Yet we found ourselves constantly struggling to stay afloat financially. When he had work, we dug out of the hole we'd gotten into during his layoff season. Just as we'd crest the top of the hole, he'd get laid off again.

And since 1998, we'd heard prophecy after prophecy of him becoming a company man with a steady income. We'd heard that we would lack for nothing. Which lines up with God's word, but we weren't seeing it.

So where was this blessing God had been promising?

Ten years into our marriage, the economy would tank. But God...

God had another plan. One we'd anticipated for ten years with no sign of it in sight.

2008. Memorial Day weekend. Vic had been laid off from his last union job over the winter. He'd gone out searching for work and had landed two gigs working nuclear power plant shutdowns. It was the first time I'd ever let him work a job away from home. Each of them lasted about a month. But the security clearance he'd gotten in order to work them would prove to be part of God's plan.

Vic had been out of work for around five weeks and tired of waiting for another union call. He asked me to pull out the box he'd brought back from his last job. The same box I'd packed a brand new cell phone in to ship him a month before. Nothing else went into that box. Just a cell phone. Now it held slips of paper and receipts that he'd obtained while at the job. He wanted the phone numbers he'd taken down so he could call the guys for job leads.

Their numbers were nowhere to be found. But in that box was a slip of paper from a company he'd worked for five years prior to that particular weekend. A paper that had been in a file folder in the filing cabinet for the past five years. One I never put in that box. One he never took with him. He looked at me funny and decided to call it.

"You're like an angel!" The un-churched man on the other end of the phone proclaimed to my husband. "I need more men. Can you be in Alabama on Tuesday?"

My husband looked at me, and I shrugged. Why not? We needed the income. Maybe God is in this.

We took my husband's $400 unemployment check, which had just come in, and packed him up and sent him off to Alabama. Mobile, Alabama. On Memorial Day weekend. The kids and I stayed in NY, and I kept working at the bank.

Until a month later, when the company hired him full-time, on salary, with benefits. God's plan unfolded.

My husband went from carpenter to field engineer. He no longer worked with his brawn. Now he worked with his brain. This blessed him, as the carpentry work had begun taking its toll on his body. He'd had surgery on both his knees, which had blown out at work.

Within two months, Vic had been promoted to Lead Engineer. There were guys he worked with who'd been waiting years for that position. God had a plan.

The kids and I packed up and moved to Alabama July 4th weekend. We'd made the decision it was important to keep our family together as God moves Vic around.

Since then, we've been able to pay off a few debts, as well as make our payments on time. Do we still struggle? From time-to-time. But not as often as we used to. 

If there's anything I've learned, it's that God does provide, and He does keep His word. It's up to us to believe He'll do what He says He'll do. It's up to us to have faith in Him. It's up to us to put our feet to our faith. We can't expect the blessing to fall from the sky or to grow on a tree. We need to trust God at His word and do the work it takes to see it come to pass. 

My husband could have sat back and waited all those years, expecting God to do His part. But my husband understood that he had to do his part, too. He looked for the open door, rather than waited on it.

People tend to ask me why we do what we do. It's because we put God first. When we put God first in all things, including our finances and our careers, He is faithful to provide our needs and our desires. The word says, "Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you." Matthew 6:33 We step out in faith, because we know God is faithful.

Look for your open door today. Don't sit there waiting for it. Find it. God already placed it before you. It's up to you to take action to see it come to pass. And if it doesn't happen today, well, God's timing is perfect. You'll see.

Photo Courtesy of Michael Connors

 

What to Do When God Disappoints

This week I've heard a lot of talk about disappointment. It seems God isn't coming through for people. Their prayers are going seemingly unnoticed. The answers aren't coming as quickly as they'd expected. Things aren't what they've hoped for. The blessing isn't falling from the sky. And God is silent.

And they want to know why.

In the years that I've come to know Jesus, I've learned that God's silence is a gift.

There was a time in my life when I loved a man. He was tall, dark, and handsome. He treated me well. I spent day-after-day praying that God would bless me with his love and affection.

But there was one mountain standing in the way. Despite the fact that he and his wife had been separated for seven years, their divorce hadn't finalized. He was still a married man. And I had to let go of my desire for him.

The set-up was perfect. He was a Christian man. He loved God with everything inside of him. He was gentle and sweet and seemed to care about me. He loved my parents. My parents loved him. And we'd become really great friends.

But he was still married.

He'd met Jesus as his Lord and Savior after he'd separated from his wife. He followed his pastor's counsel and attempted to get back together with her. He asked her if she was willing to try again. She said no. They proceeded with the divorce. But it took years for it to finalize.

And it took my standing up and doing the right thing in God's eyes. I knew inside of me what was right and that I was wrong in pursuing any relationship with this man. I had to admit it to myself and do what God called me to do in my heart.

I will never forget the day I laid my hopes and dreams aside for God's will. I made a phone call and explained that I could no longer spend time with Prince Charming if he remained married. I explained that I did have feelings for him, but in order to be right with God, I could no longer allow those feelings to rule my heart. God had to come first. I shared with him that I no longer wanted him to come to my house, call me to talk, or invite me out. I knew this would have repercussions on my family, because he considered my father a friend, as well. But it had to be done, and it was the hardest thing I've ever had to do. But I did it. I told him that if he got his divorce and heard from God that I was the one for him, then I'd be happy to hear from him. But until then, please leave me alone.

What I chose to do for God pleased God and won the heart of my Knight in Shining Armor.

I prayed against God's will for four years for a married man. It wasn't until I handed my dream of True Love over to God and made Him the King of My Heart that He would answer it with my heart's deepest desire.

No kidding. Within two weeks of me putting my foot down and seeking righteousness in my heart, his divorce finalized. 

A month later, as I walked past the Chinese restaurant, I noticed his car out front. I took a chance at the prompting of my heart, and I went inside. He invited me to join him, and over small talk, he announced he'd be claiming single on his tax return that year. Although my heart pounded with excitement inside my chest, I acted like I'd let it go over my head. I responded, "That's nice," and continued the conversation. When he offered to drive me to my destination across town, I accepted. When he asked me if he could call me later, I accepted.

Within 24 hours, he'd asked my father and my pastor for my hand in marriage. Within a week, we went out on our one and only official date. We ate dinner. We looked at engagement rings while we waited for our movie. The next week, he came to my parents' after work with a proposal. We were married two and a half months later.

All because I decided to put God first and my dreams second.

Did God answer right away? No. I prayed wrong. Did God answer as I expected Him to? No. His plan was better than mine. Did God give me what I wanted? Not until I got right with Him. Did God come through for me in the end? Of course! Because He knows what's best for me, and He promises to give us the desires of our hearts, if we will just trust in Him.

Photo Courtesy of Canna_W