March 29, 2012

Keep falsehood and lies far from me;

give me neither poverty nor riches,

but give me only my daily bread.

Proverbs 30:8

Thoughts~

The second part of this verse has been such a sweet comfort and a prayer of mine since our economy went sour. As my checking account began looking more like a savings account that I had when I was a teenager, I at first freaked out just a little bit.  Okay, a lot. A whole lot. And then God in His love and mercy reminded me of my favorite verse, Proverbs 3:5-6 (see below) and whispered to my heart that all I needed to do was trust Him with my entire being. He guided me gently to a place I had never been before: total dependence on Him.

And if I never share another thing with a human being, I want to share now that it is an unbelievably radical and wonderful state to be in. I do not use credit cards to meet my wants in life. I live on cash and only purchase my needs and every so often, something fun like my recent red and white polka dot bowl for $7.95. At first this radical style of living, using cash only and avoiding the temptations of certain shops, was weird . . . oh so weird. But as I slowly adjusted to it and stopped buying “stuff”, I found I could easily scale down my lifestyle and live more simply.

Most of my friends think they could not live this way; but, I have to tell you that I am content and have never been happier regarding my lifestyle. God’s provisions are totally sufficient for me and when He blesses me with extras, I know it’s from Him. And so, my prayer truly is, “please, Lord, don’t give me unneeded riches where I won’t depend on You, nor poverty where I can’t serve and glorify you, but please provide for my daily needs. And thanks, Lord, for the bowl that I loved so much.”

Action~

Ask God to show you financial and material areas that you can totally put all of your trust in Him to provide for you. What things do you need? And of those things, what are wants and what are needs? Do you know the difference?

Pray~

Thank you for our daily bread and our daily needs that are met by You, Lord. Thank you for teaching us to depend on You and not ourselves.

Trusting Him Always,

Becky