Within minutes of sitting down, the
pastor said, “You may have money, you may have food to eat, you may have a house
to live in, you may have a vehicle to drive but if you don’t have Jesus you
have nothing. In the same way, if you do
not have money, if you do not have food to eat, if you do not have a house, if
you do not have a vehicle but you do have Jesus, then you have everything. You can have all the things of this world but
if you don’t have Jesus, none of the things
matter.”
Living in a country where the
majority don’t have the things the pastor mentioned this morning made his
message all the more powerful.
I've prayed for weeks saying, “Jesus,
I know you are enough…so please physically BE ENOUGH. Over and over again I've thought of the words
from a song that I sang/prayed during my first visit to Haiti, called "You're Everything". I shared some of the lyrics and
thoughts in a post during that trip here:
No Way, José.
Praying for Jesus to be my everything takes on a new meaning when I
am again finding myself without some trusty everyday things I've grown accustomed to.
Today in Jesus Calling it said, “When
you entrust the details of your life to Me, you are surprised by how thoroughly
I answer your petitions. ..your faith is
strengthened as you see how precisely I respond to your specific prayers. Because I am infinite in all my ways, you
need not fear that I will run out of resources.
Abundance is at the very heart of who I am. Come to me in joyful expectation of receiving
all you need - and sometimes much
more! I delight in showering blessings
on my beloved children. Come to me with
open hands and heart – ready to receive all I have for you.”
God, alone, is our Provider. Oh, how we are seeing that…
He will continue to provide for us as
we continue to press into Him. When we
are at the end of our resources, He has only begun to show us His. As His children, He takes pleasure in
providing for us. But how can we accept
such gifts and blessings when we fill our lives with all the ‘something elses’. As we loosen our grip on what we perceive as security,
we find that we are introduced and can embrace true security.
Through tears this morning I praised God
for His compassions…for His mercies…for His unending provisions and it occurred
to me that for the first time I can relate to those we have grown to love over
the last year in a whole new way. While
I learned to live in Haiti without some comforts from the States, I still had luxuries that
so many others around me did not have. I
had the privilege of living in a house with a roof and I even had my own space…a
room with my own comfortable bed. I had enough
clothes that would allow me to go a week without washing at times and a place
to store those clothes, too. I had food to
eat each day and soap to clean the dishes we ate on.
While I thanked God for His
provisions for us in Camp Coq, I worked to encourage those who didn't have such
luxuries to thank Him for the provisions in their lives, too. And as we left the place we called home last week, I reminded those we love
so much that the same God that had been providing would continue to provide for
all of us even though I couldn't tell them where it was tangibly going to come from. I pray that as I see my Savior through
more similar circumstances as they do, that He will continue to remind me that
no earthly circumstances can interfere with what He has in store for each of
us.
“How priceless is your unfailing love!
Both high and low among men find refuge in the shadow of your
wings. They feast on the abundance of
your house; you give them drink from your river of delights. For with You is the fountain of life; in your
light we see light. Continue your love
to those who know you, your righteousness to the upright in heart.” Psalm 36:
7-10
