Heavenly Father, I thank you this morning for allowing me to see another day. I thank you Father for health and strength. I thank you Father, for your divine covering. I pray Father that you bless the readers and doers of your word with the same blessing you have bestowed upon me. I pray Father a blessing on the readers of this message. I pray that you bless them with a special blessing for taking the time to read what you have ordained for them this morning. I pray that you set the atmosphere for them to receive your word this morning. I pray Father that they not only receive it Father, but share it that it may be a help to someone else. I pray a blessing on all of your children who see it not robbery to share your word, whether via internet, or whether face to face. I pray Father that you continue to use me and others as a vessel to further thy Kingdom. And Father, I pray forgiveness for any sins committed whether by thought, speech, or deed, and I pray the same for your children. We give you all honor, glory, and praise. This I pray in Jesus name, Amen.
I remember when it was ok to talk about God in school. We were told a tale on how God protects, and on how not all thing are what they appear to be. The tale goes as follows:
There was an old lady who was a devout Christian all of her life. The news forecast a perfect storm heading to the small town she lived in. At Church, the Pastor made evacuations arrangements for all of the parishioners, but the old lady responded, “My Lord will provide.” She went home that afternoon, and then the storm came. As she was sitting in her living room, someone knocked on her door. When she went to the door, it was a young man with a van who was a relative of one the church members. He was sent to gather her. She responded, “Go my son, my Lord will provide.” The storm started to pick up and there were great winds and floods. She began to move to an upper room, where a boat passed by, and the man in the boat saw movement in the house. He navigated to the window and knocked saying “lady, are you nuts? This town will be under water soon. Come with me and I will get you to safety.” She yelled back, “Go, my Lord will provide.” The water was rising fast and it was too cold for her to bear, and she managed to climb out her window and make it to the roof. At that time a rescue helicopter was flying by and seen her, and two men lowered themselves with a harness to grab her. She refused and yelled, “It’s ok, my Lord will provide.” Within an hour the old lady drowned. When she came before the Lord in heaven, she said “Lord, I have been a faithful servant all of my life. You said that you will never leave me or forsake me. Why did you not provide for me in time of need?” God answered, “You indeed have been a faithful servant, and when I knew the flood was coming to your area, I sent you a van, but you refused it. A boat and you refused it, as well as a helicopter which you also refused.”
The bible states “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. (Php 4:6) When we are in need, we make our requests known to God, but because He does not respond expeditiously, we tend to answer our own requests. In doing so, you are telling God “thanks, but no thanks.” You are expressing to God that your way is the better way. You have put your concerns on the alter, only to pick it back up. God’s way of thinking is not like our way, nor is how we do things the same way He does them (Isa 55:8). When God puts His hand on something, it does not fail. When God is involved, there is no confusion. When God moves, there is indisputable evidence that it is Him, but you have to look carefully. For example, if you are tired of living from paycheck to paycheck, or tired of robbing Peter to pay Paul, meaning to disregard one bill to pay another, this means you have a money management issue. When you go before the Lord regarding your concern, be patient. If a financial institution all of sudden is willing to give you a $5000 credit line, it is not from God. Your affinity to spend is what got you in your mess, so giving you more money to spend, will increase your problem. God will do it in a way, where you will become debt free once and for all. If your husband is treating you bad, and shows no sign of changing, or is not willing to go with you to Church, God may not choose to change your husband if he is not willing. God may remove him and send a man your way that will identify with who his head is and therefore will know how to love you as stated in Eph 5:25-33. If you are tired of your job. If you are tired of your sincere efforts being unappreciated, then make your request known to God. If you were suddenly let go from that job, it is not for you to curse this person or that person, and try methods of getting back at your employer. You may not realize that God removed the distraction from you so that you can see a better opportunity waiting for you to grab it.
We fail in these areas all the time. God’s way of doing things are much better than ours. We would want someone to give us a fish everyday, where God will send someone to teach us how to fish, so we can eat for a lifetime. Not all things are what they appear to be. If you love God, and trust Him, then show it by exercising patience when you make your requests known unto Him. Do not attempt to usurp how you think you should be blessed over His will. It was doing things your way in the first place which caused you to go before Him making your request known. What makes you think you now have the answer since God in your eyes is taking too long? The bible states “The foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.” (1Cor 1:25) We know this to be a metaphor, because God is not a fool, nor is He weak, but if we wanted to fathom that He can be so, then even in this lower state, He exceeds us greatly. With a God this powerful and mighty, why not let Him work and remove ourselves out of the way? Amen!
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