It is said if you have a nice house, nice cars, plenty of money in the bank, go on amazing vacations that you will be happy. Is that true? I heard on a news reports that the highest suicide rates are not among the poor people but the super rich people. The people that are suppose to be the happiest by world standards. Has this idea crept into the church? I have been meditating on Matthew 6 a lot over the years and especially the last year. You may hear that the pastor will say that God cares about your needs. Most people intellectually agrees with it but do they really believe it? In my experience, I have found that people believe the Scripture in regards to the taking care of us as a spiritual care not a literal care. They may even intellectually agree that God will provide physical needs but practically they think it all depends on themselves. I even heard the expression God will help those who help themselves. It is expected in America to be super successful and if your not you must be doing something wrong. They neglect to realize sometimes the Lord won't bless something in order to grow a person's faith. He is doing a work is that person's life. That thought doesn't enter most people's minds. All of these thoughts go around in my mind and heart.....
My answer is... "Where is Christ in your plan and your life?" Is He a Sunday God? Is He just good when health issues come? Do you only come to Him for spiritual needs? Do you treat Him like a genie to grant you your desires? Where is He in your every day decisions? How often do you read His Word? The only way the mind is renewed day by day (Romans 12:2) is by being in the Word of God and not for a nano second. People spend so much time on their phone with social media and YouTube and they read a verse and think that is good enough for God. How long would a marriage last if you only spent 1 - 5 mins a day with your spouse? How great would your parenting be if you spent 1 - 5 mins with your kids? Relationships require time and investment of oneself in communicating to grow and survive. The same is true with your relationship with Christ? He is not fire insurance! If that is what you think, then I don't think you should be feeling that safe. If you have put your faith and trust in Jesus and what He did on the cross for you to pay for all your sins against a Holy and Righteous God, then Jesus should be the focus of you heart and life. His Word is how we know who He is and what He want us to do. God is your Father and He is a Good Father, but not a passive or a permissive Father. Once you are His, He will care for you in the midst of the hard times and will provide for your needs. I said needs, not wants. You don't have to go on a mission trip to see God at work. You can see Him working everyday when you put Him first and follow His lead; not expecting Him to follow yours.
I read an autobiography and biography of 2 men that lived in dependency on God. George Muller is well known for the orphanage he started and ran all in the dependency on God and Robert Chapman ran a home where he invited exhausted missionaries and pastors to stay and be refreshed at no expense to them. These men's lives of living in dependency on God in everyday life may seem to most people an impossibility for today. People say they had the "gift of faith". Obviously, they have never read George Muller's words. They didn't have the "gift of faith" they knew God! They were in His Word and they trusted Him. I will say trusting God for your everyday needs is not for the faint of heart especially in the beginning of your journey. Sometimes God can make you wait. You start by trusting for little things and then you go to bigger things. Our family lives by faith. My husband works, but is self-employed and we KNOW God as our Provider and wouldn't have it any other way. There is joy and contentment because our focus and love is on the Pearl of Great Price (Matt 13:45-46) our Savior Jesus and not the trinkets in this world.
