A God Who Sustains

Is God big enough to keep you calm in the storms of life? Is he big enough to sustain you through times of scarcity? That was the question Elijah had to answer. The prophet declared to King Ahab of Israel that it would not rain for several years. How would Elijah live? Who would supply his food and water? At God’s direction, Elijah went to a brook to hide, and there God sustained him with food carried by ravens and water from the stream. But, as the drought took effect, the water dried up. Elijah was then commanded by God to travel to an insignificant town called Zarephath, located over 100 miles away. The Lord did not arrange for some wealthy person to provide for Elijah. Instead, he chose a poor widow-woman and one who was on the brink of starvation to be his provider. This widow-woman was a most unlikely source of sustenance. God often uses the most improbable means of meeting our needs. The narrative describes her impoverished condition as very meager (1 kings 17:10).

Elijah met the woman and asked her for a little water, and then as she was going for the water, he asked her to bring him a small piece of bread. That was an act of faith for Elijah because it was clear the woman had nothing to give. She responded that she only had a handful of flour left, and she was going to cook that for her and her son—and then there would be no more for them (1 Kings 17:12). Elijah asked her not to be afraid, but, “Go home and do as you have said. But first, make a small cake of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son (1 Kings 17:13). If she first gave to the prophet, she would experience God’s miraculous provision. If she did not, the scenario would be one of scarcity. That is what we are looking at here—a mentality of abundance supplied by God or a mindset of scarcity spawned by men. This pandemic has been an opportunity for us to trust God by putting Him first and see him supply our needs. But, it has also been an occasion to be overwhelmed with fear and engulfed with the mentality of scarcity.

Elijah promised her that if she obeyed and did this act of faith God would provide, “For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord gives rain on the land’” (1 Kings 17:14). Could she believe it? Could she trust the word of the Lord? Can we believe that God will sustain us? She did believe, and she experienced God’s divine provision, “And she went and did as Elijah had told her, and the jar of flour was not spent, neither did the jug of oil become empty, according to the word of the LORD that he spoke by Elijah” (1 Kings 17:15-16). Can we trust God to take care of us? Can we put God first when it looks like there is nothing but scarcity? Do we believe that our God is big enough to meet our challenge?

As a young person, I experienced a remarkable provision from God’s hand. I was part of an agricultural class in high school in which each of us would have 2 ½ acres to raise a crop of oats. Each of us drew numbers out of a box to get our assigned parcel. We worked together on a forty-acre field that we planted, watered, and harvested. After paying the expenses, we each could have any profit.  Shortly after, being a part of this project, I pledged some money to help buy property for a building project for my church. The amount I pledged was undoubtedly a leap of faith. As the oats grew, my section outgrew the other parcels. After everything was said and done and expenses were all paid, my profit was enough to pay the pledge I had made. The teacher was bewildered as to why my oats had grown so much fuller than the other parcels. One Saturday morning, he was telling the story to a group of farmers at a local café. One farmer asked where my plot was located in the forty-acre field. When a diagram was drawn and the plot located, the farmer said I could tell you why his oats outgrew the rest. I owned a dairy farm on that property, and his acres were located were a corral for the cows was. That was one piece of property that was so rich because of the organic fertilizer. I believe God did that, and it was no accident.

Protecting the Unborn

While we are amid a pandemic, most health care providers across the nation have cut their services back. Official stay at home orders canceled elective procedures and surgeries until the worse of the crisis is past. What is so shocking is that several liberal governors and mayors across the country have fought tooth and toenail to keep abortion clinics open. Never mind that we are fighting a nationwide crisis, and almost the entire nation is under a lockdown order—aborting babies is essential. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer declared abortion is a life-sustaining service. Who knows what that means? Whenever other governors have classified abortion as elective surgery, idealogue judges have overruled the governors’ executive orders to keep abortion clinics open. It is mind-boggling to think of patients who need a hip replacement or heart surgery being told you must wait, but women who need an abortion can have it in the middle of the COVID-19 crisis.

This behavior is an insightful window into how aggressive providers of abortion are hell-bent on taking life. These people are determined not to lose any ground in this war. They are committed to expanding abortion at every opportunity so that they do not see any decline in their numbers.  During this pandemic, abortion providers are pushing chemical abortions more than ever and fighting to keep abortion clinics open for more advanced abortions. As more and more Americans come to see the brutality of abortion, which has been kept from the public for years, they side with preserving life. Supporters of abortion in order to maintain their numbers of abortions must seek new territory by infiltrating new minds. In this, they share the same challenge that slavery did in the 1800s. The more that was written and made public about slavery, the more people came to believe it was evil.

The providers of slavery were always on the lookout for new territory; otherwise, they would see their giant and lucrative enterprise shrink. Similarly, the abortion industry and the slavery enterprise must deal with lies. For example, slaves were better off in slavery than they would have been as free people. Abortion is better than having a baby because you save an unwanted life from coming into the world. Slaves would not know what to do with their freedom if they had it. Abortion is nothing more than removing tissue from the body as you would remove a tumor. The biggest of those lies was the failure to recognize the slaves as human beings who had a right to be free, as is the case with the failure to acknowledge babies as human beings who deserve to live. The lies about slavery eventually ran out of steam as the lies about abortion are running out of gas.

This is a war over life. The proponents for abortion know that, so that is why they are always ready to wage war. What is at stake here are the precious unborn who cannot defend themselves. Unless someone speaks up for them, they have no voice. My prayer is that God will help us who are protecting the innocent to do everything we can to save lives. We hope that more and more people come to see abortion for the evil that it is—the taking of innocent life.

Joy Commanded

We would all like to be happy, but is true happiness even possible? People who have seen their dreams dashed on the rocks of disappointment have concluded happiness is not possible.  I am one of those people who do not believe human happiness is possible over a long period. I do, however, believe that it is possible to experience joy no matter what the circumstances. What’s the difference? Let me explain.

Many people look for happiness that is contingent on their circumstances. If things go as planned and people treat them the way they expect, then they feel happy. The problem with this model of happiness is that we rarely have control over our circumstances and even less control over people. Just look at how this pandemic and the subsequent lock-down have impacted our lives. We are all trying to adapt to this very uncomfortable situation. If this describes your pursuit of happiness, then you know how frustrating this kind of life can be. You find disappointment robs you of your enthusiasm as your plans fail to work out. You feel hurt or even angered by the rudeness and disinterest of others around you. Chasing happiness this way feels like you are the yo-yo that is being spun up and down with no way to stop the cycle. Unfortunately, this is the way that many people live their lives.

On the other hand, joy is a gift from God that is not dependent on circumstances or the mood or behavior of others. Joy is an attitude that we choose even in times of disappointment or anxiety. The Apostle Paul actually commanded the Philippians to have joy, “Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord!” (Phil 3:1). Again in chapter 4, he said, “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” (Phil 4:4).

Paul, in his letter to the Philippians, makes it clear that our source of joy is the Lord. The origin is outside of ourselves and not dependent on us, our circumstances, or others. Paul sees joy not so much as a feeling but as an attitude—an attitude that we choose. Paul has the credentials to teach about joy because he has learned to model it during trials, and he has had plenty of them. This letter to the Philippians is written from a Roman prison without a hint of self-pity.

On the contrary, Paul is grateful that God has given him opportunities to witness and share the gospel to the Pretorian Guard—the soldiers who guard Caesar. He would never have had the chance to do that had he not been in a Roman prison. Paul has learned to model joy in such a way that inspires the Philippians to do the same.

Paul even looks at death with joy when he says, “But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you. So you too should be glad and rejoice with me” Phil 2:17-18). Paul isn’t sure how things will turn out for him in Rome, but even if he meets with death, he will retain his joy. He also wants the Philippians to rejoice with him if such a thing would happen.

The apostle continues to emphasize that joy is not a result of pleasant circumstances or prosperity. Joy is a relationship with Jesus Christ. If we understand that and discipline ourselves to have an attitude of joy, we will be able live above our circumstances no matter how bad they are. When we choose joy, we refuse to allow people or adverse circumstances to steal our joy because it is not dependent on them.