Asking for Abundance

Reading just three short chapters in the book of 2 Kings this morning, one word came into view:

Abundance

First, Elisha, who has been following and learning from the prophet Elijah, receives a DOUBLE PORTION of the Spirit of God when Elijah passes into eternity.

Next, the armies of Israel receive a VALLEY full of water when they and their animals are thirsty.

Then, a widow receives an ENDLESS flow of oil when her pantry is empty.

And finally, a young boy receives a SECOND CHANCE at life after his untimely death.

It seems to me that God has an overflow of provision and goodness for His children, that maybe there is much more available to us than we realize.

We already know from James 1:17 that "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father..."

But what if we moved beyond knowing the source of all goodness and began pursuing the abundance that He holds?

We understand that to follow Christ is to lead a life of humility as He did, and in that, we can easily become content to just accept life as it is.  And while there is great value in contentment - it is a virtue that is not easy to come by - sometimes the line between contentment and complacency can be blurred.

Throughout scripture, we see that God goes above and beyond for His people; He parts the waters, He rains food from heaven, He knocks down city walls, He defeats vast armies, He opens prison doors...He embodies humanity itself, endures temptation, isolation, and rejection, and suffers the consequences of every sin that we would ever commit...

God operates in abundance.

But do we believe it?

James 4:2-3 says, "You do not have because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives".

It blows me away that Elisha asked not only to walk in the same incredible power that Elijah already had, but to receive TWICE as much!  Do I have the faith to ask that much of God?  Is my heart so hungry for Him and Him alone that I would receive it?

When the armies of Israel were thirsty, God not only provided them with enough to drink, He filled the entire valley with water - and then He used that gift as a part of His process to defeat their opponent.

In our humility, may we begin to also pursue the limitless ability of our God.  May we not only allow, but invite - ask in confidence for - that which is beyond our limited understanding.  And as we start receiving from His abundance, may we also experience victory within His provision.

"You may ask me for anything in my name."  John 14:14
Isn't it amazing that, as a part of our relationship with Him, Jesus invites us to ask?

Royal Revelations

Last year, I began a plan with a few other ladies to read through the Bible in chronological order, something I've never done before.  While the beginning of the Old Testament was already set in order, once we came to the life of King Solomon, we began to read varying portions of scripture to get the full scope of how he lived and what he wrote.

Many who have heard of King Solomon know that he was an incredibly wise king; possibly one of the wisest to ever live.  He also lived a very rich, successful, and abundant life in many other ways.

Solomon shared snippets of his great wisdom when he wrote the book of Proverbs.  He also wrote the book of Ecclesiastes, reflecting on all that he had learned throughout the life he had lived.  Reading the account of his life as recorded in Kings, together with Proverbs and Ecclesiastes, was very insightful for me, and I began to see some things in a new - and more challenging - way.

While I won't go into great detail on the scriptures themselves, when looking over the book of Ecclesiastes, one will find that many of the individual section headings include the word "meaningless".  This fact alone seemed interesting to me, especially coming from someone who walked and talked with God and had the opportunity to experience all of the best things in life.

In Solomon's abundance, he ultimately concluded that what humanity believes is most important - whether on the grand scale or in the smallest of details - actually has no value in the eyes of God.

As we realize in reading Isaiah 55:8, we truly have no way to comprehend the perspective of God; He is just too great.  And God speaks to this reality in Proverbs 3:5, when He asks us not to trust our own limited understanding, but instead to lean on Him for everything.

Solomon learned that humanity shares a common problem; we waste the days of our short time on Earth chasing and prioritizing things that don't really matter.
But the kicker here is that in the midst of it all, we truly believe that what we are pursuing IS valuable.  Jeremiah 17:9 explains that the human heart is deceitful; it is easily misdirected, which is something the enemy of our souls takes pleasure in capitalizing on.  When he is able to slightly get us off track from God's path - the one I talked about in my last post - he successfully gets us on an entirely different path, one where we elevate things, ideas, people, and activities over the true purposes God set within our souls.  THIS is what Solomon saw as he reflected on life and determined that 'everything is meaningless'.

See, King Solomon was not hopeless, as we might presume, when he wrote Ecclesiastes.  He was emphasizing the facts he had learned as he reflected on all of the details of life.  Elsewhere in the books of Kings, in the accounts of those who came after Solomon, God explains that the successive failures of leader after leader were the result of their "worthless idols", which is something Solomon realized was true in every one of our lives.  Where we fail, where we get off course, is in giving weight to SO MANY 'worthless' things; things that may SEEM good or positive, but ultimately are not what God created us for.

As my recent studies have revealed to me, when we spend our days chasing what we believe is valuable without leaning hard into the understanding of our Creator, we get off track.  And like those who have gone before us, we end up rejecting wisdom, fighting against those who love us, and creating a counterfeit believe system that SEEMS like faith but is ultimately leading us to a false sense of our own goodness, moving us further away from God.

So, if 'everything is meaningless', what can we do?

Surrender

The reason our connection with God is designed to be a relationship is because following Him happens in the daily.  We do not have the capability to understand all that He knows and sees, so it is imperative that we establish an ongoing surrender of all that APPEARS to be good and right and valuable to us Every.Single.Day.

When we give over our ideas, desires, interests, and perspectives to be examined by the One who loves us most, we get the opportunity to reset ourselves within His best plans and spend our lives pursuing what DOES actually matter most.

And the more we practice a life of surrender, the more we will discover, as Solomon did, that what ultimately matters most, what satisfies and fulfills every longing and desire within us...is God.

Trap or Trust?

This morning, I came across the following verse:

"A person's fear sets a trap for him, but one who trusts in the Lord is safe." Proverbs 29:25

The verse jumped off the page to me, and as I considered what it said, I was reminded of how often the word 'fear' has been a part of my conversation with others over the past year or so; it shows up in all of our lives in a wide variety of ways, and many times we do not even realize it is there or recognize it for what it truly is.

How fitting that the Proverb relates fear to a TRAP...a trap is usually hidden from sight, camouflaged as something else, and completely unexpected. A trap catches someone off guard, instantly stops the forward momentum, and causes him/her to be removed or separated from the path, purpose, or intended destination.

Fear is a very real part of the human experience. I believe this is why there are so many scriptures that speak on the topic. We can encounter fear as we face danger or worry about the unknown; it shows up when we question our abilities or have concerns about the decisions of our loved ones. The presence of fear is also demonstrated when we are convinced that the wisdom and life experiences of others are inadequate and, if followed, will cause us to miss out on what our limited view demonstrates to us as a necessary course of action.

What does life look like when we have been caught in the trap of fear? Well, try to imagine a person's response to being caught in a real trap; he/she might lash out against the surroundings in a desperate attempt to gain freedom. Or maybe the person would hide, cower, and cry, ultimately becoming depressed and choosing isolation over any opportunity to get free, even with help.

When the fear we experience is allowed to have control, it only causes harm to ourselves and those around us. It creates unnecessary space between us and our loved ones, it convinces us that we are incapable or forgotten, and ultimately, it keeps us from the purposes and plans that we are uniquely designed for.

My prayer is that God would increase our awareness so we can more easily see what fear looks like in our lives. As we become more able to see where the traps exist, we can avoid them and move in a different direction, one of faith and trust in the path God has already laid out ahead of us; He even says in the Psalms that His Word acts as a light for that path. I pray that when we begin to experience fear, we can choose to step into Truth, despite the emotions we may feel in that moment.

"God has not given us a spirit of fear, but He has given unto us a spirit of power and of love and of a sound mind." 2 Timothy 1:7

"So do not be afraid. I am with you. Do not be terrified. I am your God. I will make you strong and help you. I will hold you safe in my hands. I will always do what is right."  Isaiah 41:10

"Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid. You are with me."  Psalm 23:4

"Peace is what I leave with you; it is my own peace that I give you. I do not give it as the world does. Do not be worried and upset; do not be afraid." John 14:27

I've heard it said that courage is defined as feeling afraid but doing it anyways.

Today, may we recognize that our feelings are ever-changing and that following the fear in our lives will be to our own detriment. When we trust in the Lord, we are living in the safest place for our heart, mind, and soul this side of heaven.