God's Wisdom In A Nutshell

When I was in high school there was a song called “Hold On Loosely” by 38 Special -any 1980’s music fans out there?  The song went on to say “hold on loosely  but don’t let go…”  Well this is similar what the Lord wants us to do with all that we hold dear in our lives except…if He asks us to let it go we need to do that.  Below is an excerpt from the Life Principles Bible by Charles Stanley, it’s so good that if I to try and replicate his words my attempt would be futile.  Here it is:

“Are you gripping some form of earthly security instead of trusting Him to help you? Remember, whatever you hold too tightly you will lose.  Whatever you are clutching for safety has become an idol to you-regardless of whether it is wealth, your giftedness, relationships, religious rituals or what have you- and God is not going to allow you to keep that idol as your source of confidence-a role that rightly belongs to Him.  Rather, He will allow it to fail you so you can see that He truly is your sovereign and unfailing Lord…He will take care of all that concerns you in the best way possible, and He will also sustain you in the process. (Phil 4:6,7)

In one of the earliest books of the Bible -Exodus, the Israelites were leaving captivity in Egypt and heading toward their promise land of Israel.  God said He would guide them and provide for them.  If you ever looked at a map of the area between Egypt and Israel, it is a mountainous wilderness followed by a dessert- quite tough terrain for people to traverse on foot.  They didn’t have SUV’s with air conditioning, water bottles and prepackaged protein bars to endure!

However, God said that He would provide for their needs, and He did – with manna from heaven.  Manna came down from the sky daily and the people collected it and made it into bread to eat.  God told them to not hoard it because He wanted them to trust Him to provide for their daily needs.  If they hoarded it, the Israelites found that it was molded and full of maggots in the morning!  God meant what He said.  Trust Him and He will provide. A side note: On Saturday, the Lord provided a double portion of manna so that the families could make bread for two days provision. On Sunday morning the bread was fresh and didn’t contain maggots. They could eat the prior day’s leftovers without having to gather the manna and cook it so as to honor the Lord on the Sabbath day of rest.

This is such a hard concept for us in today’s society, isn’t it?  We are “told” to work as hard as we can while we are  young, in order to save up for retirement and have that emergency fund at the ready just in case.  But, God instructs us to avoid putting anything before Him.  God says to work at our job as if we are working for Him, and He never overworks anyone.  And then the bible teaches us to use our paycheck to tithe, provide for our family and save a little.  Most importantly, be generous and help someone else who is less fortunate. God is a God of abundance and we never need to worry that we won’t have enough.

“For the poor will never cease to be in the land; therefore I command you saying, You shall freely open your hand to your brother, to your needy and poor in your land.”  (Deut 15:11 NIV)

By trusting the Lord we are allowing  His glory to be evident in our lives.  He wants others to see how He has blessed us.  This will draw others into a relationship with our Lord.

We need to relax after a good day of work and then focus on the people in our life because they are the priceless blessings from the hand of the Lord. Fear not! God has our back.

God’s Promise.
Luke 12:24 “Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds!”

Music For Your Soul:

“Indescribable” by Chris Tomlin.