Unexpected Provision

Content library Unexpected Provision
Share
Share

Southeast Christian Church

Dec 13, 2021

Hearing stories like this can usually do one of two things:

1. Inspired you: “Wow. She sounds like an incredible person. I don’t get how she can live so generously with so little. I wonder what it would look like for me to live like that.”

2. Cause you to keep it at a distance: “Wow. That’s incredible. Only certain types of people can live like that. When you don’t have much sometimes it’s easier to think the way she did because her experiences have taught her that. That was a cool story.”

The reality is, both responses actually keep the story at a distance because stories like this inevitably make us uncomfortable. Why? They can make us feel guilty or inadequate. We begin to think about how we don’t live or think that way. We make concessions or excuses to get ourselves out of the responsibility of living the same way.

Hearing a story such as this tends to expose our stingy, greedy, fearful hearts. We have become like toddlers with their toys: “That’s mine!” We don’t want to share what’s ours, because we want to keep it for ourselves. We work hard to grow our own comfortable lives. We hold tightly to what we’ve been given for the fear of what will happen if we lose it. But all along we are taking what God has given us and acting as if we did something to earn it. You have money because you worked hard in your job to earn it? No. You have money because God blessed you with the ability to work and the job that paid. It is all a gift from God and can all be taken away in an instant.

Just as Job said when he lost everything: “‘Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised’” (Job 1:20, NIV); we must be reminded of the sober reality that we came into this world with nothing and are leaving with nothing. What matters in between the coming and going is the eternal work that we engage in to bring the kingdom of heaven here on earth. If we start with the mentality that nothing is our own and God will always provide, we can open our hearts to the kind of free generosity God calls us to.

DISCUSSION/REFLECTION QUESTION: What was your initial reaction to hearing Matt’s story about his mom? What does that reveal about your heart towards giving?

Community tags

This content has 0 tags that match your profile.

Purpose

Investing in Others

Spiritual Disciplines

Mantras

Comments

To leave a comment, login or sign up.

Related Content

0

Faithful to Provide

If I raise my tithe, how will I pay my mortgage? If I invest in my small group outside of student ministry, how will I have time to myself? If I quit my job, how will I support my family? We’ve most likely all asked similar questions as we’ve been confronted with God’s command to sacrifice. But if I sacrifice this, what will happen? How? When? Where? What? We want to know that we will still be taken care of if we make the sacrifice God is asking, but part of the sacrifice is trusting in God’s character. He promises to equip us, provide for us, and strengthen us, so that we have all we need to accomplish his purpose. We want our decisions to be logical, strategic, and planned. So does God! But his logic, strategy, and plan will often look vastly different than what our human minds can conceive. We almost want to bargain with God: “Okay, I’ll sacrifice this, but you need to pay me back because if you don’t, I can’t buy groceries for my family this week.” We are worried that God will forget about us, leave us empty-handed, or watch us fall flat on our faces. While God doesn’t promise those things won’t happen, he does promise to provide what we need, when we need it. When God asks us to engage in his work, he isn’t asking us to go alone. He’s asking to go where he’s already gone ahead. He’s asking us to join him where he already is. God is faithful in keeping his promises. If he is asking us to sacrifice, he will provide what we need. It may not look like what we expected or even hoped, but the question we must wrestle with is this: Do you trust that Christ is enough? DISCUSSION/REFLECTION QUESTIONS: How have you seen God provide for you in times of need throughout your life?

0

Spirit-Filled Submission

Not only does Paul subvert the old operating system for families under Christ, he introduces a new view of human dignity. While the world fights for authority and power under a hierarchy arbitrarily created by man, Paul levels the pyramid so that all people are equal. He shows that all people have dignity, all are loved, and all are subject to one master — Jesus. Paul introduces a life of Spirit-filled submission. Rather than submitting to an oppressive, biased, selfish, earthly authority, we are invited to submit to a loving, patient, kind, gentle, and gracious God. When we submit to God through the power of the Spirit, we operate out of love, patience, kindness, gentleness, and grace. Galatians 3:26-28 puts it this way: “So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (NIV). We are all one in Christ, living in submission to the same God who shows no partiality between us. Now, we may not have slaves like they did in the first century, but we are still humans who are trying to operate out of an old system that places other people above and below ourselves. Who do you place below you? Who do you see as unworthy of God’s gifts? Who do you treat with less kindness, grace, love, or gentleness? Maybe it’s someone who hurt you, addicts, homeless people, the LGBTQ community, someone of a different political party, people who live in a certain part of town, or people of a certain race. When we live in submission to God, we give no distinction between who deserves grace and who doesn’t because we are all undeserving, and yet, Jesus gave himself out of his deep love for us. When we live in submission to a Lord like that, we can’t help but treat people with the same love. Reflection/Discussion Questions: Who are you struggling to treat with kindness, grace, love and gentleness? Why?