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And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith? Matthew 6:30
We live in a beautiful area. People travel from miles around to visit sights I see every day.
We were camping one time with my in-laws at a campground about 10 miles from our house. They’d been to the park before, but never camped there. As we sat around the fire one night, one of them said, “This is so beautiful here. I don’t know why we drive so far to camp elsewhere when we could just camp here!”
The point was well taken, and as we travel to other areas to view the scenery, I often wonder how often the locals stop to admire their surroundings. In their defense, it’s not that they are ungrateful or don’t see the beauty, but when a person sees the same thing everyday we tend to forget how beautiful it is and take it for granted.
Other times, we simply become so distracted by real life that we fail to see the beauty around us. It becomes so commonplace, we simply forget.
Spiritual life can be that way. We get distracted by issues at work. We get distracted by family concerns like finances, health issues and wayward kids. We get distracted by the social and political issues of the world.
But Jesus urges us (commands us?) to step back and remember how God cares for all of his creation. Even things such as wildflowers and sparrows. Scripture tells us he even knows how many hairs are on our heads! Talk about a God who is concerned about the details!
Maybe it’s time to step back and take a look at how God provides for us through His creation. Rather than watch the news, look at some pictures of landscape, read some passages from the book of Psalms, or, if you can, sit on your deck and just take in the views.
Don’t allow distractions keep you from seeing God’s direction. Rather than seeing problems look at God’s provision.
Then Peter came to him and asked, “Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me? Seven times?” Matthew 18:21
I was wrong. For the millionth time it seems I’d broken a promise. A promise I’d made, and broken, before. I was truly sorry. I had every intention of doing better. I tried to make things right. So, humbly, I asked.
“Will you forgive me? Again?”
Without emotion, or even eye contact, he said, “I have to forgive you. The Bible says so” and walked away.
I knew at that point I wasn’t forgiven. Words mean nothing when the heart isn’t in them.
Forgiveness is hard. Forgiveness to many is weakness. Forgiveness to some means placing yourself back in a toxic, hurtful relationship. Forgiveness to some means condoning the infraction. But forgiveness is also an act of faith and freeing oneself to move on.
Philip Yancey says, in his book ‘The Scandal of Forgiveness’, “By forgiving another, I am trusting that God is a better justice-maker than I am. By forgiving, I release my own right to get even and leave all issues of fairness for God to work out. I leave in God’s hands the scales that must balance justice and mercy. “
We are commanded to forgive, not trust. Forgiveness frees us, but does not require us to continue in a toxic relationship.
Who do you need to free yourself from through forgiveness? It’s a matter of heart. It’s a choice. It doesn’t require anything from the other person, not even their presence or knowledge of your decision.
Grace frees us. Grace opens our lives to power. Grace empowers us to forgive.
Praise the Lord; praise God our savior! For each day he carries us in his arms. Psalms 68:19
I was at the store the other day and observed a young mom trying to do some grocery shopping for the family with two small children in tow. One was seated in the cart, the other was walking beside mom. She was tired, I could see it on her face. The older of the two was whining, no doubt he had a rough day at daycare. At one point he stopped, pulled on mom’s shirt and held his hands up. “Momma, carry me.” With a look of tired hopelessness, she responded, “I can’t carry you honey. You have to walk.” He cried, she got upset, I imagine you get the picture.
Have you ever felt that way? You love your kids. You’d do anything for them, but sometimes carrying our kids can be burdensome. We get tired, they get heavy. We get overwhelmed, they get demanding. At times, when we are honest with ourselves, we don’t carry them because we think they need to bear their own load. They are getting to old, to dependent, to spoiled.
On the human level, that’s understandable, but on the spiritual plain, here is a promise we need to remember. Your burden is never too heavy for the Father. As his dearly loved child, He never tires of carrying your pain, whether that pain is physical or relational. He never gets angry when you need to be carried through your fear. He’s not judgmental and refuses to carry you through your addiction. He is never so preoccupied with other things that He’s unwilling to scoop you up in His arms and remind you of his love.
Have you ever seen the picture of the shepherd carrying the little lamb? That’s your Father. He gladly carries you every single day. Every day. Every struggle. Every pain. You are in his arms, and you can rest securely there.
Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Matthew 7:24
What do you think is more foolish? Find the perfect spot to build your house. Collect all of the building materials and store them there? Or to find a place on the beach and build a house in an area that is susceptible to storms and destruction?
Neither option is very wise. In the first option, there is no shelter whatsoever. When the storms come, you have everything you need to be safe, but you haven’t put it together.In the second option, when the storm comes, what you have built is destroyed.
It’s one thing to have the right materials to build and have the right place to build on. It’s quite another to take those materials and actually build.
Jesus tells the story of two houses. Let’s assume that the building materials used to build these houses are exactly the same. They are high-quality, they are exactly what you need.
This story isn’t so much about the building materials or the location is it is what you do with the materials you have. Inactive faith is no faith at all.
Just before he tells the story about the two houses, Jesus warns those listening to him that there will be many who claim to know him, but he won’t know them, because they have not lived a life of active faith.
Following Jesus isn’t about knowing him, and knowing all sorts of scripture, and knowing all the right things to say. Following Jesus is having an active faith. Building a house of grace, of mercy, and of love. Building a house in which people can run to for shelter in the midst of the storm.
What can you do today to make your faith more active in the lives of those around you? What can you do today to start building a house that will withstand the strongest storms?
Give your burdens to the Lord, and he will take care of you. He will not permit the godly to slip and fall. Psalms 55:22
The story is told of a little boy whose favorite cat died. Wanting a proper burial for it, he took it out to the backyard and buried it under a tree. The interesting thing is, he left the tail of the cat, sticking up into the air. When I asked why he did that, he said, “I just want to check on it every day to find out if it’s OK.”
Now, that may sound like a rather silly story. However, don’t we sometimes do that with the problems that we face? The Bible tells us that we can cast all of our cares on Jesus. The Psalmist encourages us to give our burdens to God. Yet, like the boy in our story, we tend to want to check on those problems every once in a while.
We aren’t told to give part of our problems to God. We aren’t told to loan our problems to God. We’re told to give them to him. To give it all up. To trust him.
Time and again in the Bible, we are told stories of times when God’s people were up against a wall. They had a problem that they could not handle themselves. They’re only hope was to give it to God and He showed up!
Sometimes we may think our problems are too small. Sometimes we may blame ourselves for the situation we’re in and decide “you got yourself into this you need to get yourself out.” And when we are really honest with ourselves, sometimes we’re not real sure God can handle what we’re up against.
The NIV version of the Bible translates this verse like this, “Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken. Psalms 55:22 (NIV)
I like the word picture in that translation. Don’t lay your struggles gently or cautiously. Cast them! Throw them as you would a piece of garbage. Get rid of it. Give it to a God that can handle it.
Through faith in Jesus, we can trust our sovereign, loving, Heavenly Father to see us through every situation we encounter.
Mike Fisk & Built with Grace 