Trusting God Day by Day: 365 Daily Devotions (51 page)

I have tried to inform people when I see them eating poorly, and they have not received my advice well, to say the least. I even had one person say,
“If we are going to spend time together, I don’t want you telling me what to eat all the time and making me feel guilty when I eat something you don’t approve of.”

The person went on to say,
“I know I don’t eat right, but I am just not at the place yet in my life where I am ready to do anything about it. I have lots of things wrong with me that I feel are more urgent than my appetite. So I am concentrating on what I feel God is dealing with me about, and I have no time to also pay attention to what you are dealing with me about.”

We all tend to put our convictions on others; we think if they are priorities for us, they must be priorities for everyone.

Romans 14 shares examples of how people were in a quandary about whether or not they should eat meat that had been offered to idols. Some thought it would be a sin, and others said the idols were nothing anyway and therefore could not harm the meat. Some could not eat because of their weak faith, and others ate because of their strong faith. Paul told them to each be convinced in their own hearts, and not try to force their personal convictions on others.

God seems to meet each of us right where we are in our faith. He begins with us at that point and helps us grow gradually and continually. Be led by the Holy Spirit yourself, and let others do the same thing.

I
n my search for content I have discovered four things we must eliminate from our lives in order to be content.

The number one problem that leads to feelings of discontent is
greed
. Have you ever known someone who just could not be content no matter how much they had? I was once like this myself. Of course, I didn’t think of it at the time as being greedy; I just always wanted more than I had. We must learn to enjoy where we are in each area of life, while we are on the way to where we are going. This means we can find our
satisfaction in Him while we are on our way to the fulfillment of our hopes and dreams. I also believe
fear
causes many of us to be unhappy and discontent. We are afraid we will not get what we desire, and this causes us to be impatient.

Over time, I have learned that I could do the things God wanted me to do, and I could trust in and wait on His perfect timing to bring to me those things that He knew were best for me. Once we learn to trust God and step out even though we’re afraid, God will provide the courage and boldness we need to overcome our fear.

Lack of trust in God
is another cause of discontent, but simply trusting in God brings us into a place of rest, joy, and peace.
Looking for contentment in all the wrong places
is my fourth reason for discontent. Don’t make the mistake of looking for contentment in things. If you do, the result will be that you will never find it. You will never be truly satisfied.

The answer to our frustration comes when we receive revelation that our satisfaction must be in Jesus and in His will and timing for our lives. When we are in a hurry to find contentment, it doesn’t make God hurry. He has a plan, and only trusting Him will allow us to enjoy it.

W
aiting! It’s a big part of our everyday lives, and most of us don’t particularly enjoy it… or have time for it. Especially busy people who usually have way more to do in a day than they can possibly accomplish! But I can tell you from experience that our attitude about waiting can make all the difference in the world.

Like the Israelites who spent forty years making an eleven-day trip, I was stuck in a modern-day wilderness of my own. I had many wrong attitudes that contributed to the prevention of my progress, but one of the major roadblocks for me was an impatient attitude that made me want to scream:
“Please don’t make me wait for anything. I deserve everything immediately!”
I had a long and interesting journey before I learned that waiting is part of our walk with God. We will wait—that is a given—but it is
how
we wait that determines how difficult the wait will be.

When you arrive for an appointment with your doctor or dentist, you have to wait your turn. The first thing the receptionist tells you is,
“Please have a seat while you’re waiting.”
Being seated indicates that a person is resting, and that’s exactly what we should do, both in the doctor’s office and in the wilderness experiences of our lives. While we’re waiting for God to do the things that we asked for Him to do, we should rest in Him.

Another attitude that prevented me from making progress was
“I will do it my way or not at all.”
This stubborn attitude is one that many people have to deal with. If it is not dealt with, the Promised-Land living becomes a blurry image and never a reality—something we see off in the future but never experience.

But it doesn’t have to be that way. When we are serious about making some changes in our attitudes and allow the Holy Spirit to help us, we can take a shortcut through the wilderness instead of going the long way around!

W
hen we are frustrated, it is often because we are trying to do something in our own strength, instead of putting our faith in God and receiving His grace and help. Let us learn to pray for what we would like to be changed, and then cast our care on God. If He leads you to take some kind of action, then do it; but if He doesn’t, then wait with peace.

I had to practice trusting God for a lot of things, but particularly finances. At one point in the beginning of my ministry, God asked me to trust Him to provide for my family financially without my working outside the home. I knew that I needed time to prepare for the ministry He had called me to. And working full-time in addition to being a wife and mother to three small children didn’t leave much time to prepare to be an international Bible teacher.

As an act of faith, and with my husband’s consent, I quit my job and began learning to trust God to provide for us. Dave had a good job, but his salary was forty dollars a month less than our bills. This meant we had to have a miracle from God every month.

I remember what a struggle it was to not go back to work—after all, I was a responsible woman and wanted to do my part. But I knew that God was asking me to keep preparing for the ministry He was calling me to and to trust Him for provision. Each month, He provided for our financial needs, and seeing His faithfulness was exciting, but I was accustomed to taking care of myself—all this “walking by faith” was crucifying my flesh big time.

Trusting God for the forty dollars a month we needed to pay our bills and for anything extra we needed was often difficult, but it helped
us gain a strong foundation of faith that has helped us throughout our lives. I strongly encourage you to obey God and trust Him in every area of life. Each victory you have will increase your faith for the next challenge you face.

M
y husband, Dave, is anointed to be the head of our family, but if I have a negative and rebellious attitude toward Him, I will miss God’s best for my life. However, if I stay under Dave’s covering, pray for him, and respect his authority, God will be able to bless our entire family. God’s Word says that where there is unity, there is blessing (see Ps. 133).

Let’s learn to pray for those who have authority over us, rather than being angry and rebellious. James 5:16 says, “The earnest (heartfelt, continued) prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power available [dynamic in its working]…” Just think of it—tremendous power is made available when we pray! Imagine the peace and content we would enjoy in our lives if we were to consistently pray for those in positions of leadership.

In the workplace, picture what could happen if we prayed for the boss instead of murmuring, faultfinding, and complaining about him or her, the way the company is run, or how underpaid we think we are! What if our prayers resulted in the boss being so blessed that he or she became a happier, more content person… and all that happiness and
content filtered down to us. What glorious, joy-filled lives we could have if we were to live as Jesus instructed.

I believe there is beauty in godly submission. Even when we disagree with someone, we can learn to disagree, agreeably. We can show respect for them and their position of authority even when they do something that we think we would do differently. I believe a rebellious attitude is a very dangerous one, and I urge everyone to submit first to God and then to the authority He has placed you under.

O
ne of the spiritual laws of the kingdom of God is, “Use it or lose it.” God expects us to use what He gives us. When we use the grace offered to us, then more and more grace is available.

In Galatians 2:21 Paul stated, “I do not frustrate the grace of God…” (
KJV
). What did he mean by that? To find out, let’s look at what he said in the preceding verse in The Amplified Bible: “… It is no longer I who live, but Christ (the Messiah) lives in me; and the life I now live in the body I live by faith in (by adherence to and reliance on and complete trust in) the Son of God, Who loved me and gave Himself up for me.” Then he followed with his statement about not frustrating the grace of God. You see, it would have frustrated the grace of God if Paul had tried to live his life on his own, but he had learned to live by the power of Christ residing in him, which we know is the Holy Spirit.

I am sure most of us know how frustrating it is to try to help someone who keeps pushing us away. Imagine a drowning person who frantically fights and resists the lifeguard who is trying to save him. The best thing that person can possibly do is totally relax and allow the lifeguard to bring him to safety; otherwise, he may drown. You and I are often like the drowning swimmer. The Holy Spirit is in us. As the Spirit of Grace, He tries to aid us in living our lives with much greater ease, but we frantically fight to save ourselves and keep our independence.

Let us be wise enough to take full advantage of all that is offered to us. Let us welcome the Holy Spirit into our lives daily. By doing so, we will be letting Him know that we need Him and that we are very, very glad He has chosen us as His home.

F
irst John 4:12 is one of my favorite Scriptures. I love to read it and just take time to think about it: God’s love is brought to completion in us! This Scripture helps me understand why I felt as if I had been filled with liquid love at the time of my baptism in the Holy Spirit. At that time, an extra measure of God’s love was poured into my heart (see Rom. 5:5). I had to receive that love for myself, then I could begin returning it to God, and then, finally, I could start letting it flow out of me toward others.

We cannot give away what we don’t have. It is useless to try to love someone else if we have never received God’s love for ourselves. We should love ourselves in a balanced way, not a selfish, self-centered way. I teach that we should love ourselves but not be “in love” with ourselves. In other words, believe in the love that God has for you; know that it is everlasting and unconditional. Let His love affirm you and make you feel secure, but don’t begin to think more highly of yourself than you ought to (see Rom. 12:3
KJV
). I believe loving ourselves in a balanced way is what prepares us to let love flow to others around us.

Walking in love is the ultimate goal of Christianity. That should be the primary thing we all strive for. Jesus gave the command for us to love one another as He loves us. When I think of what I can do for myself or how I can get others to bless me, I am filled with
me
. When I think of other people and how I can bless them, I find myself filled with the Holy Spirit, Who is the Spirit of Love.