No one likes uncertainty about the future, worrying how we are going to feed our children, who will take care of us. This is imo, one of the best examples of God’s provision for His people in the Bible. It reminds me that we are such a small part of a bigger picture, a larger plan. In this day, Jeff, I agree with with you the world and modern civilization can’t last much longer. Though people throughout history have likely said that many times, it’s hard to believe we are not on the downhill slope to the end of life as we know it. Some handle it better than others. Cathy is a worrier, that’s her nature and she acknowledges it. I, on the other hand don’t worry about it. But I sometimes feel that it’s more my intellectual laziness and not wanting to deal with something than my feeling or knowledge that God will provide like he did I for Jacob and family. I recall Raymond taking about a pan-tribber one time at Westgate, it will all pan out in the end and my thought at that point was - if you’ve wrestled with it and realized God’s plans for the end are bigger and more complex than we can figure out, ok, but it’s not an excuse for not trying to figure it out, an excuse for laziness. That’s where I am with the future. Financially we are stuck where we are. I think I believe that God will handle it and somehow we will come out the other side ok and theologically I am certain of it, but maybe I just don’t want to give it the attention and focus and prayer needed. I am sure I am not making any sense at this point so I will stop. Just some incoherent ramblings but I guess this is supposed to be a safe space right 😂
safe space for sure! I gotta say, I think men - and nations - often busy themselves with work that is not ours to accomplish. Securing the future and saving people - whether it's our country, our kids, even *ourselves* - that's God's work, not ours. The instructions that he gives us are more along the lines of stewardship and shepherding than anything else. And best I can tell, he even maintains control of the size and health of the harvest and flocks. That's quite literally what's going on in this story. The Most High was not about giving Israel's growing family their best life now in the place that he prepared for them. This chosen people were coming face-to-face with a slow death, losing control and hope inch by inch, day by day. (remember, they didn't even yet know how long the famine was going to be) ...and yet, they were never supposed to be in control - that was always God's work - even using untrustworthy foreign powers to help them make it. (and the genius with the plan to save the world was their brother whom they rejected). ...Maybe one of the lessons we can walk away with is that, broken and flawed as we are, our job is to watch over what he's given us, hope in him, trust in his provision, do our best to live according to how he's taught us, and teach our people to do the same. - jeffrey
Pastor Nathan at Calvary (back in the day) used to say God turns the big knobs, we turn the little knobs but the little knobs aren’t hooked up to anything. It’s so easy to think out parenting is more in scope that it really is . That should be comforting but we like our control and to think we affect the outcome.
You know, I think we *do* affect the outcome, but (to your point) we don't really control anything. One of the things I've been trying to emphasize to my teenagers in the last year is that we need to live in a way that blesses and encourages others - especially *each*other* - mostly because that's what Jesus told us to do (second commandment and all that) ...but also because we need to accept the fact that we.can't.make.people.better. (a major life lesson that I learned from Malcolm Reynolds, one of the most quotable make believe people I know) There's really only one person that I can truly control (me), and not even all the time with that guy. ...another piece of advice we give the kids is "remember, no matter how bad things are, you can always makes it worse" - which is especially true with my parenting. It's so easy to dishearten and discourage them, isn't it? I guess the same principle is true whether it's home repairs or raising kids - demo is always easier than new construction, and repairs are the trickiest work of all. ...I know that I can (and have, so many times, to my shame) rather easily affect my kids, my friends, my co-workers, my neighbors, my family - whomever my life touches...I can easily affect them in negative ways that may change the course of their lives. It's harder work to build them and bless them and encourage them and inspire them, and the effect of that work isn't so much changing their course - it's more like inspiring them to chart the harder course or take the narrow road. And then trying to walk the road with them. ...or something like that. OK, I'm done rambling 🙃 - jeffrey
No one likes uncertainty about the future, worrying how we are going to feed our children, who will take care of us. This is imo, one of the best examples of God’s provision for His people in the Bible. It reminds me that we are such a small part of a bigger picture, a larger plan. In this day, Jeff, I agree with with you the world and modern civilization can’t last much longer. Though people throughout history have likely said that many times, it’s hard to believe we are not on the downhill slope to the end of life as we know it. Some handle it better than others. Cathy is a worrier, that’s her nature and she acknowledges it. I, on the other hand don’t worry about it. But I sometimes feel that it’s more my intellectual laziness and not wanting to deal with something than my feeling or knowledge that God will provide like he did I for Jacob and family. I recall Raymond taking about a pan-tribber one time at Westgate, it will all pan out in the end and my thought at that point was - if you’ve wrestled with it and realized God’s plans for the end are bigger and more complex than we can figure out, ok, but it’s not an excuse for not trying to figure it out, an excuse for laziness. That’s where I am with the future. Financially we are stuck where we are. I think I believe that God will handle it and somehow we will come out the other side ok and theologically I am certain of it, but maybe I just don’t want to give it the attention and focus and prayer needed. I am sure I am not making any sense at this point so I will stop. Just some incoherent ramblings but I guess this is supposed to be a safe space right 😂
ReplyDeletesafe space for sure!
DeleteI gotta say, I think men - and nations - often busy themselves with work that is not ours to accomplish. Securing the future and saving people - whether it's our country, our kids, even *ourselves* - that's God's work, not ours. The instructions that he gives us are more along the lines of stewardship and shepherding than anything else. And best I can tell, he even maintains control of the size and health of the harvest and flocks. That's quite literally what's going on in this story. The Most High was not about giving Israel's growing family their best life now in the place that he prepared for them. This chosen people were coming face-to-face with a slow death, losing control and hope inch by inch, day by day. (remember, they didn't even yet know how long the famine was going to be)
...and yet, they were never supposed to be in control - that was always God's work - even using untrustworthy foreign powers to help them make it. (and the genius with the plan to save the world was their brother whom they rejected).
...Maybe one of the lessons we can walk away with is that, broken and flawed as we are, our job is to watch over what he's given us, hope in him, trust in his provision, do our best to live according to how he's taught us, and teach our people to do the same.
- jeffrey
Pastor Nathan at Calvary (back in the day) used to say God turns the big knobs, we turn the little knobs but the little knobs aren’t hooked up to anything. It’s so easy to think out parenting is more in scope that it really is .
ReplyDeleteThat should be comforting but we like our control and to think we affect the outcome.
You know, I think we *do* affect the outcome, but (to your point) we don't really control anything. One of the things I've been trying to emphasize to my teenagers in the last year is that we need to live in a way that blesses and encourages others - especially *each*other* - mostly because that's what Jesus told us to do (second commandment and all that)
Delete...but also because we need to accept the fact that we.can't.make.people.better. (a major life lesson that I learned from Malcolm Reynolds, one of the most quotable make believe people I know) There's really only one person that I can truly control (me), and not even all the time with that guy.
...another piece of advice we give the kids is "remember, no matter how bad things are, you can always makes it worse" - which is especially true with my parenting. It's so easy to dishearten and discourage them, isn't it? I guess the same principle is true whether it's home repairs or raising kids - demo is always easier than new construction, and repairs are the trickiest work of all.
...I know that I can (and have, so many times, to my shame) rather easily affect my kids, my friends, my co-workers, my neighbors, my family - whomever my life touches...I can easily affect them in negative ways that may change the course of their lives. It's harder work to build them and bless them and encourage them and inspire them, and the effect of that work isn't so much changing their course - it's more like inspiring them to chart the harder course or take the narrow road. And then trying to walk the road with them.
...or something like that. OK, I'm done rambling 🙃
- jeffrey