God's Resources

Thursday, October 17, 2019

I’ve been reading a lot lately. I’m reading the Bible in a Year. I’m listening to audio books. I’m reading with the kids. I’m also reading two other hard copy books. I enjoy reading and I decided to make room for it in my life. 

I remember going through a difficult problem a while ago. Instead of complaining about it, throwing a fit and posting a rant on the Internet, I challenged myself to read (or listen to) 25 books. So far, I’ve surpassed this number. 

Giving myself to reading allowed my mind to focus on learning something good instead of complaining. It is tempting to allow my humanity to take over. 

I am really good at being a human. I can throw a pity party like no other. The problem is that no one will attend. The problem is also that I have to do all the clean up after the party. Yuck. 

I know that in my humanity, I also have a spirit. I know that no matter how I feel, I need to follow the truth. Not my truth but God’s. I choose to go with His unfailing truth. 

I wish I could tell you that all my problems could be fixed with spiritual discipline alone. Sometimes, God leads us to do other things. 

One time, I was feeling super sick. While the church prayed for me, I went to the doctor. She told me either I fix my health habits or I’d die young. Well, you just discovered why I get up early to run. Through God’s providence, I found healing and restoration in the medical practice, medicine and a major lifestyle change. 

At the same time, I'm the person who has been supernaturally healed. More than once. I also have family members who have been healed supernaturally. God is able to do both. It is up to me to believe, listen and obey. 

During that time, I became a self-proclaimed expert in stress management. I studied the causes, natural solutions and I can say that I manage stress better than before. It started with prayer. God led me to His Word, His wisdom and His wonderful resources. 

His word brings incredible refreshment to my life. I love Bible study not because I want to be the ‘know it all Bible student’ but because of the refreshment my soul feels. 

God’s wisdom leads me to things such as a doctor’s office. I make and keep my appointments. I pray that God will give them wisdom to solve my problems. I do what they tell me to do. One time, my doctor told me to stop at the farmer’s market on the way home, buy some greens and drink more water. I followed her advice and felt much better. God’s wisdom has led me to set up counselor appointments so I can work out my problems. Going to the Christian counselor is one of the best things I’ve done with my time. 

God’s resources are the best. I count exercise as one. Movement does wonders for the body and the mind. I count ideas as resources from God. A few years ago I was having a challenging time with a few relationships in my life. I’d pray, exercise, read the Bible… Yet the problems continued. One day, God gave me a simple idea I started applying every time I saw that particular person. It was life changing. The burden I felt lifted and I felt empowered to face that situation. God gives us resources because He cares and He is good.   

I will always seek God first when I have problems. I will also apply myself to read and study the Bible. I will lean on His wisdom and look for His resources.