Trust

Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not high-minded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy.   ~   I Timothy 6:17

God wants us to enjoy life!  He wants us to enjoy our relationship with Him!  In the past some have painted a picture of Christianity as being low-key, can’t have much fun, and you probably should be kind of sad most of the time.  Not true!!

We believers should enjoy serving God.  However, there are some things that will hinder you from enjoying your relationship with God.  One thing is condemnation.  Always being down on yourself because you’re not perfect yet.  Get a clue…  you’re not!  Now, that’s not an excuse to live a sloppy life, but on your road to reaching for perfection give yourself a break.

Another thing is caring the cares of this life.  You’re not big enough to solve all your problems so why not let Father God take care of those things that concern you?  Another thing that will keep you from enjoying your relationship with God is a lack of trust in God’s guidance.  If you’re always concerned about your future you can’t enjoy the present.  Trust God to lead your life.

Lastly, legalism will strip you of joy.  Legalism is striving to obtain by works what God has provided by grace.  Quit striving and start enjoying the blessings of God.  If you’re a legalist you’ll always feel like you’re coming up short because you can never do enough.  Stop frustrating God’s grace in your life and just enjoy the wonderful relationship He has freely given to you!

Being predestined according to the purpose of Him who worketh all things after the counsel of His own will.   ~   Ephesians 1:11

The word translated “predestined” in this verse means “predetermined”.  God has a predetermined course for every one of us.  That course was determined before we were born.  The Lord said to Jeremiah, “Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.“  (Jer. 1:5)

God knew you and I before we were born and He set an individual course for us to follow.  Now it’s up to us to seek Him to guide our lives and believe that He will do it.  We can start following His plan by being faithful where we are right now.  As we’re faithful He will begin to unfold His will for our lives.  We may not always be aware of Him working, but as we trust Him we can be confident He’ll complete His will for our lives.

But seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.  ~  Matthew 6:33

We’re going through a time in our nation right now where a lot of people are worried about their things.  They’re concerned about their money, their homes, their cars, and the list goes on.  And truly your heart goes out to the person who has saved all their working life to have a comfortable retirement only to see their savings wiped out.  But there is good news; if we’ll seek first God’s Kingdom and His righteousness He has promised to provide the things we need!  Third John 2 declares that God wants us to “prosper in all things.”  So, God truly wants us to have things.  What He doesn’t want is for us to seek things first. 

When I hear about people taking their own lives because they’ve lost their things I realize that they were seeking things first and not the Kingdom of God.  If you truly seek the Kingdom first you can rest assured that no matter what happens to your things God will always replace them.  It’s part of our benefit package in the Kingdom of God.  So don’t worry about your things,  just seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and trust Him to provide the things you need.