Attended Well

Figs might not grow on the fig trees, and grapes might not grow on the vines. Olives might not grow on the olive trees, and food might not grow in the fields. There might not be any sheep in the pens or cattle in the barns. But I will still be glad in the Lord and rejoice in God my Savior. The Lord God gives me my strength. He helps me run fast like a deer. He leads me safely on the mountains. (Habakkuk 3:17-19)

None of us wants to hear of bad things happening, much less that we won't have food to eat, the land growing barren before us, the storehouses emptied of all reserve. Kind of sounds a little 'apocalyptic' doesn't it? Do 'lean times' mean we will trust God any less? I certainly hope not! The harder things get for us, the greater our faith is put to the test. The more it is tested, the more we find ourselves either turning into God, or running from what he is doing. The direction we take determines the outcome we will realize.

The Lord God gives me my strength. That one statement reveals more than we might first appreciate. Our strength isn't 'mustered up' in the lean or bad times. It comes because we serve a faithful God who delights in ensuring his children are 'attended well' in the worst of times. There is plenty of ugliness around us, but we don't have to get mired by it. There is a plethora of hurt everywhere we look, but we don't have to become the next victim. There is an abundance of misguided 'wisdom' given out from our airwaves and media outlets each day, but we don't have to let our hearts be burdened by the doom and gloom of their 'reports'. 

Why? Our strength is not our own. Our ability is not limited to that which we possess by nature. We have God's strength and ability to lead us forward, past all the negativity of the times, and straight into the goodness he will provide. One might think it is God's strength that is being tested in these difficult times, but his strength never wavers, so that cannot be it. The testing is meant to reveal where it is we find our rooting - will it be in the things of this world, or in the power and strength of the Almighty God? We might want to find a 'more friendly place' at the moment, but chances are the greatest amount of growth our 'roots' can realize is right where we find ourselves right now. Just saying!

He IS and he DOES

You are right and you do right, God; your decisions are right on target. You rightly instruct us in how to live ever faithful to you. My rivals nearly did me in, they persistently ignored your commandments. Your promise has been tested through and through, and I, your servant, love it dearly. I’m too young to be important, but I don’t forget what you tell me. Your righteousness is eternally right, your revelation is the only truth. Even though troubles came down on me hard, your commands always gave me delight. The way you tell me to live is always right; help me understand it so I can live to the fullest. (Psalm 119:143)

One of the toughest thing we can do in life is pray this prayer. To trust him is to actually ask God to help us understand that he IS right and that he always DOES what is right - even when we don't understand fully what he is doing. As you can imagine, I am one of those individuals who wants to know what God is doing - I don't really like to be in the dark on matters, but I oftentimes find myself caught off-guard by what God is doing! Why? Is it that I am not maintaining a close relationship? No, not really, but we can always do better with that, can't we? Is it because God wants to hold things close to the chest and not let me in on them? Not really, but there are times when the thing he is doing is so beyond my comprehension it would totally blow me away if I knew it all 'up front'. So, as you can imagine, trust is the key here. I need to trust God to tell me the way I should live, then live as he tells me. How about you? Do you find yourself not understanding God at times? If so, begin by praying this verse to him. He backs his Word with his power, so praying these words could just begin to open the door to our understanding more and more!

God 'rightly instructs us in how to live EVER FAITHFUL TO him'. If you want to live faithfully, it might just begin with these words, "Help me be faithful even when I don't feel like it, God". Too many of us want to complicate this 'faithfulness' thing - we think one slip up means we aren't being very 'committed' to our desire to be faithful. The most important thing for us to keep in mind is the GOD IS ALWAYS FAITHFUL. Even when we are not all that faithful, he IS! He isn't going to let us slip away into some dark hole just because we slip up from time to time. He IS the God of restoration - grace IS his response. God's strength IS ours. His hope IS ours. His commands ARE right and they ARE true - the will endure forever. We will fail from time to time, but he remains FAITHFUL - giving grace and instruction until we can become faith-full.

I know I have doubted God's decisions in my life on occasion. When I thought I was supposed to be going to nursing school and God asked me to lay down that vision and attend Bible College instead, I wondered at that decision. If I were to be painfully honest here - I needed to grow up a bit and get 'solid' at a 'foundational' level in my life - so I went to Bible College. Did I 'need' those two degrees? Not in the sense of hanging them up on my wall, but the pursuit of those degrees settled something in my heart that made me 'ready' for nursing school. Did my vision for nursing school die that day? No, it got moved to a later timeframe! As you know, I finished nursing school at 30. Old by some standards, but my heart was ready for the next 33 years of that career! As I sit here today, retired and fully content to enjoy this next stage of my life, would I say the journey was riddled with doubts along the way? You betcha! Thankfully God took every doubt I 'prayed' to him and unwound them until I began to be at peace with who he IS and what he DOES in my life. Are you there? Just askin!