Trust

I'm in the middle of reading a book by Jerry Bridges called Trusting God. It is very good, yet simple, which I like. It covers much about his belief and the Bible's proofs that God is sovereign over all things including health, nature, government (do we ever need that!), nations, and personal lives. It has made me think much over what we refer to as "chance" and what is really God working in everything. Even in the rough times of life, we can trust in what Jeremiah says, "For I know the plans that I have for you,... plans for welfare and not for calamity, to give you a future and a hope." (NASB) Through good and bad (which is what we are usually more concerned with), God is there; still good, still in control, still actively working out His will and desire for us. I was reading some other blogs about this same topic (so I can't take full credit for these thoughts), and they got me to thinking more about this, and it's neat to see how all different types of Christians can come to the same conclusions about God. And it's just by reading what His Word says. I like that I can challenge my youth group to not only fully put their trust and life in God's hands, but to know that He is actively working in them even now. I was counseling just the other day with someone who is struggling with cutting and thoughts of suicide. They need to know that God has a plan for their life and He is working and preparing them even in their "life crisis" and emotional pain they are going through now. Teens today unfortunately don't think about their future and what God has for them, they are concerned only with now. If they do think about the future it's only about what job they want to have to make the most money they can to have the most toys and stuff they can. If we could only point them to God's omniscience that ties together with his absolute love and mercy He has for us, which equals His sovereignty in our lives. But that requires trust which is a subject many teens, and adults, come far from truly understanding or even thinking about.

Jehovah-Jireh

Cool true story: I enjoy anything to do with sports and that includes reffing/umping/coaching/etc... I've been able to ref a couple girls highschool volleyball games lately and so i thought I should at least go buy an official ref shirt. I went out last week with my girls to find one and none of the sporting goods stores we went to had any. (Apparently they haven't made their way to WV yet! Sorry, dumb WV joke.)) I would have to special order one. So i decided to hold off and just wait until i could order one online down the road. Not a big deal, but I was kind of bummed that I couldn't even find any. Well, today at school, they had sorted through some old sports uniforms in some boxes and I came across 4 ref uniforms. In my size. In great condition. I was told I could take one for free and not have to return it. That is not an earth-shattering miracle or "coincidence" or anything, but to me that was just another instance of God providing something for me and not letting me find what I wanted the other night so He could provide one for free. I hadn't even considered it to be that big a deal and so i hadn't prayed about it, yet God wanted to bless me. Jehovah-Jireh means "the Lord will provide" and He proves that to me so often that I wonder how many times I've overlooked His providing in my life. I have so much and receive so many things, physical items and otherwise, that I'm sure I miss His blessings probably even daily. This neat little story in my life which I'm sure I'll probably forget eventually just reminds me again of what a great, awesome God i get to serve.
One thing I miss about college life was the constant dependence on God for all things financial. I felt so close to God having to depend on him for money for tuition all the way down to quarters so i could do my laundry, and it was great seeing Him provide in various ways. I miss that sometimes in the "real world" when I have maybe more money available then I did back then and I feel i don't have to depend so much on Him, though I should. This ref shirt story is a good challenge and reminder for me and I hope it encourages you to not only trust in God to provide but to keep your eyes open so you can actually see when He does. In Matthew 7 in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus points out that God provides for the flowers and the birds so how could He not know our needs?