This week Nikki and I are on vacation in Florida with her family. We are very priviliged to have this opportunity. There is not much better than staying in a nice large house, in a beautiful neighborhood with pools, the beach, restaurants, and more. As I think about our stay in this wonderful place, it is easy to see that every need we have is met! Whenever something is needed from the store, well, someone walks across the street and gets it. When we want to go get some sun, we walk outside to the beach or pool. When we want to go for a bike ride, we hop on the bikes and take off. When we want to eat, we hit the well stocked pantry and fridge.
While this does not seem uncommon to most (except the beach part maybe) who are reading this, it is very uncommon to most in the world. I have been reading a book called The Complete Green Letters by Miles J. Stanford. In his chapter entitled "Appropriation" this quote is found. It stood out to me as I think about our lives and our needs and how we try to not have needs:
"There was a 'supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ' for Paul, and that made it possible for Christ to be magnified in him. It was a supply which was always available, but only appreciated and appropriated as and when the Apostle came to know his need. Life is meant to bring a succession of discoveries of our need of Christ, and with every such discovery the way is opened for a new inflow of the supply. This is the explanation of so much that we cannot otherwise understand--this plunging of us into new tests where only a fresh supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ will meet our need. And as our need is met, as we prove the sufficiency of Christ to meet our inward need, so there can be a new showing forth of His glory through us."
Sometimes I wonder if we miss out on the power of the Spirit of Christ at work within us and the truth of this verse "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ." (Eph 1:3 NAS)? If God sovereignly uses the needs in our lives to reveal Himself and power, then could it be that we often do miss out on this blessing as we attempt to meet every need (inward and outward) in our lives ourselves?
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Amen! Amen!
ReplyDeleteI have been thinking about this a lot lately. My grandma who will be 81 on October 4th has not been doing so well. She fell and broke 2 ribs, then it has gone down hill from there. In this process of watching her give up the fight, from just a few days before she fell she was driving her self places and doing things for herself, to now it taking about 10-15 minutes just to get up off the toilet to her bed. Not a far walk. She is using a walker and has said that she has nothing left to live for. You see my grandpa, her mom and her mother in law died within a 9 week period in 1999. These are the words of my grandma just last week..."For the last 10 years I have been going on cruises to all different places in the world, I have been buying clothes, or spending money on anything I want in order to buy my happiness..IT DOES NOT WORK!" Why do we not get this...In the process of all of this I have been able to share Jesus with my grandma. Pray that she will turn to God! At this point I can't share the heart wrenching story of our talk, but one day I will. I am just wanting to learn before it's too late, that I can not buy happiness, but can only have Joy through Jesus! Why do we try to go through life on our own? Why do we try to solve all of our own issues? Jesus is waiting to answer them for us, if we would just choose to rest in him!
This post rings so true in our daily lives. We can't see the need for Jesus sometimes because we are control freaks trying to meet the needs ourselves. We rarely find time to be still and know that HE is GOD (Psalm 46:10) and to know that he shall supply all our needs according to his glorious riches (Philippians 4:19). Thanks for sharing your insights in the growing of your faith. This is what fellowship is for! Blessings!
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