Working for What?

“People leave this world no better off than when they came. All their hard work is for nothing—like working for the wind. Throughout their lives, they live under a cloud—frustrated, discouraged, and angry.” (Ecclesiates 5:16-17; NLT)

It is safe to say that money is the number one thing that can poke holes in my serenity. Here in this society, money is required for me to make it from day to day – to feed myself, to clothe myself, to keep a roof over my head. Money also is required for education, preparation and relaxation.

I know I am not alone in this. Friends and family members have struggled over the years, some breaking free of money’s crush, others still living under it, and yet others choosing to remain unaware of any issue. With the ups and downs of the economy over the last several years, many of us found ourselves suddenly unemployed, and while God may have graced us with a new job, we carry the burden of debt accumulated while without work. Many who chose to take out school loans over recent years graduated only to be unable to find work adequate to cover the cost of their monthly payments.

And the cost of everything, it seems, continues to go up, up, up, while our paychecks, if we’re blessed enough to have them, stay right where they are.

Spend some time in Ecclesiates and you’ll see the author is very much fed up with our human patterns of existence. Perhaps he saw something similar in his time to what is common today of people working hard just to make ends meet and hardly getting to enjoy the life God gave them because of their constant toiling. He says it’s all for nothing. We can’t take it with us, so there’s no use for hoarding it. We should be enjoying life more, not being so consumed by work and worry.

But what about saving money for retirement? Or emergencies? What about providing for the kids?

Perhaps the main point here is that the author is trying to bring our attention to our fruitless works. Not to tell us to stop working all together, but to consider where our time is spent and how much we trust God to take care of us. In the introduction to Ecclesiates in The Message, Eugene Peterson writes:

“Ecclesiastes actually doesn’t say that much about God; the author leaves that to the other sixty-five books of the Bible. His task is to expose our total incapacity to find the meaning and completion of our lives on our own.” (emphasis mine.)

The primary message coming through in my reflections this Lenten season focuses on my need to rely on God, live into God’s will, and trust that God will provide and take care of all my needs. I’ve even written about how I know that doing exactly that is always the best decision I can make. But, human that I am, it becomes difficult when I sit down in front of the black and red of my budget and wonder how to make it work. How do I know when I’m trying to figure it out or if I’m trying to follow God’s lead? One thing at a time. Plenty of prayer and plenty of trust.

My prayer today is that I continue striving toward God’s will, not my own, even when it comes to my finances. May I trust him with my money and tear down the fears which stand between me and my pure belief that he will provide for all my needs. Lead the way, God, I’m right behind you.

Amen! =D

Singin’ Don’t Worry

Psalm 34:4, 6

“God met me more than halfway, he freed me from my anxious fears.  When I was desperate to God, I called out, and God got me out of a tight spot.”  (MSG)

I’m small in stature, so it’s very easy for me to fit into tight spots.  I lost count a long time ago how many times God has gotten me out of them.  My life, for the better part of it thus far, was lived finding tight spots and not paying much attention to God.  But when I got stuck, I called out, and he was always there.

The life of tight spots is a very anxious life.  Living in today’s society, even, it can be difficult not to feel anxious.  In spite of lessons that over and over teach us we need not worry (i.e. Matt 6:25-34), so many things today drive us onward to fear.  “Be afraid, the world is in peril!” the news shouts.  “This recession will never end,” headlines scream. 

But apart from the world in general, there is a whole host of things about we make ourselves anxious in day-to-day life.  It is exhausting to live in constant worry.  And it is in no way productive or helpful in getting us through our days.

God indeed freed me from my anxious fears.  Just yesterday I stopped to take notice of what he’s done for me in giving me his peace which passes all understanding.  I am open to it most of time now, only closing off to it when I’m having one of my doubtful moments or being tempted by a tight spot. 

In a many faceted situation, I was graced with an opportunity to make some extra money by jumping onto a project with an approaching deadline.  Given all the nuances of the situation, in the past I would have been anxious about a number of things walking into this.  Instead, with the grace of God, I peacefully and cheerfully walked in and then quickly settled in, never feeling out of place or unable to do the task set before me.

It was incredible.

What was even more incredible was the fact that since God’s peace has started to become almost second nature to me, I didn’t even realize until halfway through the day how I would have felt had I been in this position even six months ago.

God doesn’t stand on one side of the beach and wait for me to travel the whole distance to him.  The moment I take a step toward him, the moment I reach out my arms in his direction, he comes running toward me, arms open wide.  He’ll meet me more than halfway, and when he scoops me up in his arms and I’m wrapped up in his loving embrace, I am reassured and have no reason to be afraid.

Amen!  :D

Somewhere Between Planting and Harvest

James 5:7-8, 10-11

“You see farmers do this all the time, waiting for their valuable crops to mature, patiently letting the rain do its slow but sure work.  Be patient like that.  Stay steady and strong.” James 5:7b-8a (MSG)

I grew up with farms as neighbors, in a state covered with farmland, with farmers in my family, and kids in farming families at school.  I watched fields rotate corn, soybeans, cattle, and seasons where nothing was planted.  Farmers must know their land and how to work it in order to provide for their families and for the rest of us who go to the grocery store hoping for food to put in our stomachs. 

Farmers are dependent on the weather, which requires much patience.  My dad, who lives on a farm, updates me on how things are going both at planting and harvest time.  This year it rained so much through the spring that the farmers couldn’t get the crops out until much later than usual.  Then the weather became too dry, then too wet again...  It has been a rough farming season in the Midwest. 

But, like the old prophets, the farmers keep going.  “They put up with anything, went through everything, and never once quit...”  They have to – their lives depend on it.  And if they don’t keep going, we don’t keep eating.

James references Job’s trials and how God brought it all together for him at the end.  So, too, it is, when I work not for myself, but for God, striving to do his will and sticking it out with him through every trial, every test, every bad day, every good day, and so on. 

Even now, as I have gotten more distracted and side-tracked, too new to this whole completely trusting in God and not worrying thing not to take on human concerns, God is pulling it together for me.  Today it was as if he said to me, “Look, you know I’m in control.  Just let go and do what I am telling you to do.  Stop trying to pull it together yourself, even if you’re only trying a little.  I’ve got this.  Just do what I tell you.” 

So I am going to try much, much harder and pray all the more on my surrendering power and my ability to let go and let God and do what he tells me, “Because God cares, cares right down to the last detail.” James 5:11b (MSG) 

He’s got this.  I’ve just got to find my inner farmer and wait for God to make this crop mature, patiently letting his rain do its slow but sure work in me.  Steady and strong.

Amen!  :D

Just Do It

James 2:14-26

“Faith without works is dead.” James 2:26 (NAB)  This is another one of those bits of scripture that I’ve heard over and over.

“Dear friends, do you think you’ll get anywhere in this if you learn all the right words but never do anything?  Isn’t it obvious that God-talk without God-acts is outrageous nonsense?” James 2:14, 17 (MSG)

As I am going through this period of great spiritual growth, I have to look around and ask myself, “Where are my works?”  God has been calling me to go volunteer somewhere while I have this time without a job, but I have yet to do it.  Though it’s on my list, I tend to forget until I look at my list later in the day when it is too late to call.  Today, however, I will make a call to schedule myself for volunteering somewhere early next week. 

I can’t very well be writing and conversing about all this amazing stuff God is sharing with me, yet spend the majority of my time hanging out in my apartment with myself.  I’m not doing anything.  And I am not solidifying my faith by adding works.  Imagine how much stronger and more on fire I would be if I were out doing something good with a purpose!

In James 2:25, he refers to, “That seamless unity of believing and doing.” (MSG)  It is a unity, and my relationship with God can only be made more fulfilling by completing that unity and getting myself into doing along with my believing.

“For just as a body without a spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.”  James 2:26 (NAB)

I’m gonna get out there and DO.

Amen!  :D

Working with Habitat for Humanity

Oh, God, My Faithful German Shepherd

Psalm 23:1

Psalm 23 in its entirety is a good one.  It is perhaps one of the most well-known psalms.  But I really would like to hone in on the first verse today.

"The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want."  NIV
"The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need."  NLT
"The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I lack."  NAB
"The Lord is my shepherd; I lack for nothing."  Oxford Study Bible (Revised English Bible)
"God, my shepherd!  I don't need a thing."  MSG

So, God is my shepherd and I don't need anything.  Cool.

I know in general what a shepherd is.  A shepherd leads & feeds the sheep.  This is a reference used all over the bible, including instructing Christ's followers to be shepherds to his flock and feed his sheep (i.e. 1 Pet. 5:2). Merriam-Webster defines shepherd as: 1: A person who tends sheep; 2: Pastor; 3: German Shepherd.  (God spelled backward is Dog and a German Shepherd is a Dog, therefore a German Shepherd is God in Dog form.)  Dictionary.com gives a similar, but more descriptive definition (which still includes a dog): 1: A person who herds, tends and guards sheep; 2: A person who protects, guides, or watches over a person or group of people; 3: a member of the clergy; 4: the Shepherd, Jesus Christ; 5: Sheepdog.

Hmm...  God is my shepherd.  He tends to me, guards, protects and watches over me, herds me to guide me in the right direction, ministers to me and leads me through Christ's teachings, and loves me unconditionally like a fuzzy, furry pooch that will nip me in the heels should I start to stray from the flock, then lick my face to show me it was out of love.

Sheep don't worry.  At least, not to my knowledge.  Much like my kitties are well provided for as pampered housecats, all of the sheep have their needs met by the shepherd.  He (or the dog) steps in to rescue them should a wolf come hunting.  He leads them to green pastures for the lushest of grass upon which to snack.  (Psalm 23:2)  If one goes missing, he searches to find it.  (Luke 15:4-7)

God is my shepherd and I am his sheep and shepherds provide all the sheep need, therefore God provides all I need.

But I have tens of thousands of dollars in student loan debt and am carrying a balance on my credit card.  But I just got laid off and am unemployed, not earning any income to pay on said debts.  But food for my belly and gas for my car cost more of that money I don't have. But, but, but.  I need to sit on my but and trust that God will provide.  If I haven't learned that by now, I need to start paying better attention.

"If you decide for God, living a life of God-worship, it follows that you don't fuss about what's on the table at mealtimes or whether the clothes in your closet are in fashion.  There is far more to your life than the food you put in your stomach, more to your outer appearance than the clothes you hang on your body.  Look at the birds, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, careless in the care of God.  And you count far more to him than birds.  What I'm trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God's giving.  Don't worry about missing out.  You'll find all your everyday human concerns will be met."  Matt. 6:25-26, 31, 33b.  (MSG)

Amen!  :D

Why Won't God Just Do It?

John 2:1-11

At the most recent Celebrate Recovery meeting I attended, this week was an extra week - meaning that it was not scheduled for either a testimony or step study.  The leader* took the opportunity to talk about what he called the "Divine-Human Cooperative."  He explained that what this meant is that we work in partnership with God, God does not work for us. 

With reference to addiction, since this is a recovery program, we cannot simply pray for God to remove our addiction (or our co-dependency, or our eating issues, etc.) and expect the he will take it away so easily.  True, we can rely on God for strength, but he will not do it all for us.  We must do the work in addition to the prayer.

There is the saying, "Pray like everything depends on God, work like everything depends on you."  I believe this is the simplest way of defining the Divine-Human Cooperative.

The leader went on to ask, "What's the first miracle?"  After a moment of silence with no response from the group, he said, "Most of us in here are drunks.  We should know this!"  He referred to the miracle of Jesus turning water into wine: John 2:1-11.  He illustrated his point by indicating in the scripture where Jesus had the servants fill the water pots and told them to fill the pitcher and take it to the host (John 2:7,8).  The only thing Jesus did was turn the water into wine because we as humans could do the rest.  Why should Jesus be expected to do ALL the work?  The others were perfectly capable of filling some jugs with water and carrying a pitcher to the host. 

We must be willing to believe that God can and will perform miracles, and to trust that he will provide, but we cannot rest on our laurels waiting for something to happen.  After all, no one will open the door if we haven't knocked.

Amen!  :D


*Due to anonymity being a foundation of the program, I obtained the leader's permission to use his words without his name in this blog

I Think You Should Read This. It Would Be Good For You.

Romans 14:13-23

I need to take note of the first verse in this reading: "Forget about deciding what's right for each other." Rom. 14:13a (MSG) 

In the past, I've all too often decided what I think someone else should be doing.  I'd get frustrated when they wouldn't take my advice or change their behavior.  I actually caused myself a lot of stress over some - most noteably my ex.  Even long after we broke up I still thought I knew better than she did how she should live her life.  I could have avoided so many headaches if I only had focused on myself and let her sort out her own stuff.  Arguments would have been far less frequent, and my blood pressure would have stayed consistently normal. 

Now that I am learning to focus on myself and my own behavior with biblical help and by listening in the rooms of Al-Anon and at Celebrate Recovery meetings, my life can be much simpler.  At the end of that first verse it says, "...don't get in the way of someone else, making life more difficult than it already is." Rom. 14:13b (MSG)  So true!

The rest of the reading uses food as an example since different religious sects at the time were particular about what should or should not be eaten, but the point is the same.  "So let's agree to use all our energy in getting along with each other.  Help others with encouraging words; don't drag them down by finding fault."  Rom. 14:19 (MSG)

Amen!  :D