“Then he called the twelve together and gave them power and authority…. He sent them out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick, with these words, ‘Take nothing for your journey-neither a stick nor a purse nor food nor money, nor even extra clothes! When you come to a place, stay there until you go on your way again.’
Luke 9:1-5
Jesus always wants to move us into a place of total dependence, so that we can understand that he “will supply all that you need from his glorious riches.” (Phil. 4.19). He puts us in places where we can know his provision. At times, like Abraham, the Lord may call us to mountaintops to sacrifice and asks us to only take our one and only son, so that he can provide a ram from a nearby thicket. This is how he shows his love for us; it is a gift, an honor, a special privilege to be in a place where we can know that we are truly under his constant care.
One difficulty with receiving this daily provision lies all around us. Our next door neighbor has a house twice as big as ours and three new cars, while mine leaks oil which makes it appear that someone is grilling hamburgers behind my car. Their grass is cared for weekly by a professional landscape company while my yard has a variety of at least twenty kinds of weeds that are native to Alabama. My 401K is not “k-ing” and our bank account hovers around zero without any numbers in front of it.
Others need not depend totally on him; they have not been given the special blessing of knowing the faithfulness of the good shepherd. He has allowed them to be a little more self reliant, to provide for themselves. These folks are envied by others, but in the eyes of the Lord, they are not as special as the ones who get up every day knowing that without the provision of God they will have nothing.
I’ll be honest when I often think how nice it would be to have no worries and such a comfortable standard of living. But because of God’s deep love for me, I think he will not allow me such a life. His love is jealous, and he knows that my greatest joy will be in the fact that I know I have a heavenly Father that constantly reminds me to “consider the lilies!” and “consider the birds of the field!” “Aren’t you much more valuable than they!?” “Seek first my kingdom. Don’t you know I will provide all you need?”
I have never been without anything I have needed. I don’t have too much and I don’t have too little. It has always happened exactly how God told me it would. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. I have everything I need. I always have.
Paul wrote, “We are penniless, but possess everything worth having.” This radical and childlike trust is often foolishness to the world, but God, in his infinite wisdom knows that it is the fools, like me and those who trust, who will inherit the kingdom of God.
Luke 9:1-5
Jesus always wants to move us into a place of total dependence, so that we can understand that he “will supply all that you need from his glorious riches.” (Phil. 4.19). He puts us in places where we can know his provision. At times, like Abraham, the Lord may call us to mountaintops to sacrifice and asks us to only take our one and only son, so that he can provide a ram from a nearby thicket. This is how he shows his love for us; it is a gift, an honor, a special privilege to be in a place where we can know that we are truly under his constant care.
One difficulty with receiving this daily provision lies all around us. Our next door neighbor has a house twice as big as ours and three new cars, while mine leaks oil which makes it appear that someone is grilling hamburgers behind my car. Their grass is cared for weekly by a professional landscape company while my yard has a variety of at least twenty kinds of weeds that are native to Alabama. My 401K is not “k-ing” and our bank account hovers around zero without any numbers in front of it.
Others need not depend totally on him; they have not been given the special blessing of knowing the faithfulness of the good shepherd. He has allowed them to be a little more self reliant, to provide for themselves. These folks are envied by others, but in the eyes of the Lord, they are not as special as the ones who get up every day knowing that without the provision of God they will have nothing.
I’ll be honest when I often think how nice it would be to have no worries and such a comfortable standard of living. But because of God’s deep love for me, I think he will not allow me such a life. His love is jealous, and he knows that my greatest joy will be in the fact that I know I have a heavenly Father that constantly reminds me to “consider the lilies!” and “consider the birds of the field!” “Aren’t you much more valuable than they!?” “Seek first my kingdom. Don’t you know I will provide all you need?”
I have never been without anything I have needed. I don’t have too much and I don’t have too little. It has always happened exactly how God told me it would. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. I have everything I need. I always have.
Paul wrote, “We are penniless, but possess everything worth having.” This radical and childlike trust is often foolishness to the world, but God, in his infinite wisdom knows that it is the fools, like me and those who trust, who will inherit the kingdom of God.
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