You probably know which answer I'm going to be leaning towards on this one. Although it isn't always when or how we imagined (more on this in the next post), God really is sufficient for every circumstance in which we find ourselves. I know this sounds like a textbook answer and I always found it unsatisfactory when other people said it to me. It felt like they were saying 'if you just have more faith it'll be fine' or even palming me off with this answer because they didn't care enough to really engage with the issue and to stand with me.
And I know that this will probably sound like that to some of you, because until I personally experienced it, it seemed like a very nice idea but life didn't seem to match up. I didn't feel like my faith was up to actually believing the impossible, and it just seemed like words. I suppose my answer to that is ask God to show you. I was given that answer too, and felt much the same about it, but we really do just have to keep asking, keeping trusting, even if it feels like we're barely clinging on by our fingernails. God knows, and he comes through at the perfect time.
He came through for Sarah when she could bear no children.
He came through for Joseph when he was sent into slavery by his brothers.
He came through for the Israelites when they were exiled in Egypt.
He came through for Job after all of his trials.
He came through for Daniel in the lions' den.
He came through for Peter when he walked on the water.
He came through for the sick, demon-possessed and rejected when he came in human form.
I could list countless examples but I will let you do that yourselves!
He came through for Jesus when he raised him from the grave, and more than that, he has come through for every one of us who comes to him. We are still in a battle, but Jesus has won the victory and defeated sin and death. It is finished.
He comes through for me every day, if I care to notice it. He gives me grace to deal with others and myself. He provides for me practically and spiritually. He is a rock to lean on when I can no longer stand, and the glimmer of light and hope in the darkness.
I have struggled writing this post because I know it can just sound like empty words, but please believe me when I say from experience that it really is truth. Redemption wins. He is enough. He can deal with whatever we throw at him and still love us, and he can come through in the most impossible situation.
Saturday, 30 March 2013
Friday, 29 March 2013
Sufficient: What does it mean?
Well, writing this blog is proving to be interesting, and is definitely fulfilling the aim of making me look into things more thoroughly. It turns out the God is not actually described much in the Bible as being sufficient. The verse I previously quoted (2 Cor 12:9 My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness) is the closest we get, and seems to be speaking of God's power and faithfulness to come through in glory through our weakness. Other mentions of''sufficient', 'enough' and so on seem mostly to be referring to humans' provisions and circumstances or the ending of a season (this is enough; time to move on). Unless of course I have missed an obvious search. Feel free to correct me if you are more theologically minded!
Our concept of God's sufficiency has clearly come from somewhere, though, and we see throughout the Bible how he has provided in every way for his people through history (more on this in the next post). Perhaps a more useful way to look at the meaning of 'sufficient' and 'enough' is to look at the dependence of people upon the all-sufficient source.
Here we have more luck! The Hebrew word שׁען is used 22 times through the Old Testament, nearly always describing a reliance on something (usually God) for indispensable support.
Were not the Ethiopians and the Lubims a huge host, with very many chariots and horsemen? yet, because thou didst rely on the LORD, he delivered them into thine hand. 2 Chronicles 16:8
And Asa cried unto the LORD his God, and said, LORD, it is nothing with thee to help, whether with many, or with them that have no power: help us, O LORD our God; for we rest on thee, and in thy name we go against this multitude. O LORD, thou art our God; let not man prevail against thee. 2 Chronicles 14:11
Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. Proverbs 3:5
Who is among you that feareth the LORD, that obeyeth the voice of his servant, that walketh in darkness, and hath no light? let him trust in the name of the LORD, and stay upon his God. Isaiah 50:10
And it shall come to pass in that day, that the remnant of Israel, and such as are escaped of the house of Jacob, shall no more again stay upon him that smote them; but shall stay upon the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, in truth. Isaiah 10:20
So, the sufficient one who is always enough is he on whom we are to depend. He is the solid rock; our hope, our light in the darkness, and the grace to cover all our sins.
And it doesn't stop there. It's not like God is just enough for us to get by. No; he does it in abundance, with a flourish, for his glory because we are treasure to him. This is what I realised a couple of weeks ago when he once again prodded me to remember that he is sufficient. He knows my every need better than I do myself and meets it every time in ways I really could not imagine!
Our concept of God's sufficiency has clearly come from somewhere, though, and we see throughout the Bible how he has provided in every way for his people through history (more on this in the next post). Perhaps a more useful way to look at the meaning of 'sufficient' and 'enough' is to look at the dependence of people upon the all-sufficient source.
Here we have more luck! The Hebrew word שׁען is used 22 times through the Old Testament, nearly always describing a reliance on something (usually God) for indispensable support.
Were not the Ethiopians and the Lubims a huge host, with very many chariots and horsemen? yet, because thou didst rely on the LORD, he delivered them into thine hand. 2 Chronicles 16:8
And Asa cried unto the LORD his God, and said, LORD, it is nothing with thee to help, whether with many, or with them that have no power: help us, O LORD our God; for we rest on thee, and in thy name we go against this multitude. O LORD, thou art our God; let not man prevail against thee. 2 Chronicles 14:11
Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. Proverbs 3:5
Who is among you that feareth the LORD, that obeyeth the voice of his servant, that walketh in darkness, and hath no light? let him trust in the name of the LORD, and stay upon his God. Isaiah 50:10
And it shall come to pass in that day, that the remnant of Israel, and such as are escaped of the house of Jacob, shall no more again stay upon him that smote them; but shall stay upon the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, in truth. Isaiah 10:20
So, the sufficient one who is always enough is he on whom we are to depend. He is the solid rock; our hope, our light in the darkness, and the grace to cover all our sins.
And it doesn't stop there. It's not like God is just enough for us to get by. No; he does it in abundance, with a flourish, for his glory because we are treasure to him. This is what I realised a couple of weeks ago when he once again prodded me to remember that he is sufficient. He knows my every need better than I do myself and meets it every time in ways I really could not imagine!
Sufficient (Intro)
We've all heard it so many times we don't even think about it. God is sufficient. For what? My every need. My grace is sufficient for thee (2 Cor 12:9). But do we actually believe this? Do we believe it in every area of our lives? Do we live as if it is true or do we go around trying to fulfil our own needs? Do we trust God to provide for us?
This is a subject he keeps bringing me back to again and again, so I'm beginning to get the idea that perhaps it's just a little bit important. Maybe.
It seems to be becoming quite a large topic in my head so I think this will turn into a series of posts. So far the questions/points I'm planning to look into are these:
What does 'sufficient' mean?
Is God sufficient and does he always come through?
What if he hasn't come through?
Can he really provide in every area of my life?
Letting go and trusting him to be enough.
I realise that some of these sound quite similar, and of course they will overlap a bit but each has been raised in me by a slightly different line of thought. I also want to say at this point that this (and my blog in general) is not going to be some 'got it all together, I have the answers, Jesus loves me let's all just be happy' put it in a nutshell kind of thing. I think I am more about questions than answers, and I am still struggling and wrestling with a lot of the things I will be dealing with in this series. There's a reason he keeps bringing me back to it, and it's not to remind me of how great I am!
This is a subject he keeps bringing me back to again and again, so I'm beginning to get the idea that perhaps it's just a little bit important. Maybe.
It seems to be becoming quite a large topic in my head so I think this will turn into a series of posts. So far the questions/points I'm planning to look into are these:
What does 'sufficient' mean?
Is God sufficient and does he always come through?
What if he hasn't come through?
Can he really provide in every area of my life?
Letting go and trusting him to be enough.
I realise that some of these sound quite similar, and of course they will overlap a bit but each has been raised in me by a slightly different line of thought. I also want to say at this point that this (and my blog in general) is not going to be some 'got it all together, I have the answers, Jesus loves me let's all just be happy' put it in a nutshell kind of thing. I think I am more about questions than answers, and I am still struggling and wrestling with a lot of the things I will be dealing with in this series. There's a reason he keeps bringing me back to it, and it's not to remind me of how great I am!
Wednesday, 27 March 2013
Dependence
Apologies in advance, because this post is rather a train of thought so probably a bit disjointed.
I am an interesting mixture of dependence and independence. Given the option, I hide behind other people. On those occasions where I can't get out of a social occasion, I have a tendency to attach myself to somebody with whom I am comfortable and follow his or her lead. Until recently I had very little confidence in who I was as a person and depended on others to define me and affirm me.
On the flipside, I can be very independent when I need to. I can manage my life very well on my own. I have a job and hobbies, and a few good friends and everything works quite nicely. I don't need anybody else for my life to work and I can quite happily up sticks and move to a foreign country where I don't know a soul.
Reading this back and thinking about my life, it seems very strange to see the complete dependence in some areas and complete independence in others. I can't quite make sense of it.
Now I have tended to slightly despise the dependent part of my nature. In the culture where I grew up there is a pressure to be independent. We are supposed to make our own choices, know what we want and be prepared to get it. Dependence is weakness. Unfortunately this does not come even slightly instinctively for me, and, through letting others define me, I have always felt there is something wrong with me because I wasn't independent.
Over the last few years I have begun to discover who I am, which has been amazingly freeing, but I have still felt the nagging need to be even more independent than I have become. Then one day, it clicked. (Although I'm sure I've been told many times before) I don't need to be independent; I need to depend on him, and him alone. My inclination to dependence is only weakness when it is focussed on the wrong source.
What do you depend on? Or do you need to learn to let go and be more dependent?
I am an interesting mixture of dependence and independence. Given the option, I hide behind other people. On those occasions where I can't get out of a social occasion, I have a tendency to attach myself to somebody with whom I am comfortable and follow his or her lead. Until recently I had very little confidence in who I was as a person and depended on others to define me and affirm me.
On the flipside, I can be very independent when I need to. I can manage my life very well on my own. I have a job and hobbies, and a few good friends and everything works quite nicely. I don't need anybody else for my life to work and I can quite happily up sticks and move to a foreign country where I don't know a soul.
Reading this back and thinking about my life, it seems very strange to see the complete dependence in some areas and complete independence in others. I can't quite make sense of it.
Now I have tended to slightly despise the dependent part of my nature. In the culture where I grew up there is a pressure to be independent. We are supposed to make our own choices, know what we want and be prepared to get it. Dependence is weakness. Unfortunately this does not come even slightly instinctively for me, and, through letting others define me, I have always felt there is something wrong with me because I wasn't independent.
Over the last few years I have begun to discover who I am, which has been amazingly freeing, but I have still felt the nagging need to be even more independent than I have become. Then one day, it clicked. (Although I'm sure I've been told many times before) I don't need to be independent; I need to depend on him, and him alone. My inclination to dependence is only weakness when it is focussed on the wrong source.
What do you depend on? Or do you need to learn to let go and be more dependent?
Presence (pt II)
Just to add, to yesterday's post the aspect I hinted at but glossed over, presence is just as vital in our relationship with God. In case you hadn't figured that out. Now we know that he always gives us his presence when we engage with him (and indeed it is in us and part us us constantly, if we choose to be attuned to it), but what kind of presence do we give him?
Do we truly come with unguarded and undistracted attention? How often? For how long? If the people our maker put around us value our presence, how much more does he himself yearn to dwell with us and in us, and us in him? Presence, I think, is the essence of true fellowship in all our relationships.
Do we truly come with unguarded and undistracted attention? How often? For how long? If the people our maker put around us value our presence, how much more does he himself yearn to dwell with us and in us, and us in him? Presence, I think, is the essence of true fellowship in all our relationships.
Tuesday, 26 March 2013
Presence
So, there are some bigger topics I want to post on that God has been teaching me about recently, but also a couple of things I want to mention from earlier in the year that have really struck me so I'll do those now and wait for the weekend to work on the other things.
This quote from Stasi Eldredge in Captivating really stuck out to me as something very relevant to me in my daily life, and I think increasingly important as the world becomes more and more virtual:
The gift of presence is a rare and beautiful gift. To come - unguarded, undistracted - and be fully engaged with whoever we are with at that moment.
When I spend time with someone and come away feeling unsatisfied, it is usually because I, or they, have not been truly present. Equally, the most fulfilling encounters happen when people are truly spending their time with each other, listening, sharing, genuinely caring.
This applies from the most mundane of times to the most important. I work with children, and previously to reading this had been getting frustrated and bored in my job. Nothing seemed that exciting, the children began to play up at times, and it just didn't seem fun or worthwhile any more. The moment I read these two sentences it clicked: I was no longer present with them. I was depriving them of what they needed to thrive by letting my own thoughts and presence wander to what seemed important in my life at the time.
A friend at the time also said in an unrelated conversation 'you get out what you put in', and, though we have all heard it so many times, it really is true. When I start investing in those children, connecting with them, being present with them, we all enjoy it and those times becomes precious treasures in our memories.
I don't have it all sorted, and I need to be reminded of this every day (just revisiting it to write this post is teaching me all over again and it was only a few weeks ago!), but I am beginning to learn that there is nothing more important to be thinking about than how I am interacting each moment with the people present with me. Presence is one of the greatest gifts that can be given or received, and you need no qualification, no finances, no high profile or great calling to give it. Just you, whoever you are.
This quote from Stasi Eldredge in Captivating really stuck out to me as something very relevant to me in my daily life, and I think increasingly important as the world becomes more and more virtual:
The gift of presence is a rare and beautiful gift. To come - unguarded, undistracted - and be fully engaged with whoever we are with at that moment.
When I spend time with someone and come away feeling unsatisfied, it is usually because I, or they, have not been truly present. Equally, the most fulfilling encounters happen when people are truly spending their time with each other, listening, sharing, genuinely caring.
This applies from the most mundane of times to the most important. I work with children, and previously to reading this had been getting frustrated and bored in my job. Nothing seemed that exciting, the children began to play up at times, and it just didn't seem fun or worthwhile any more. The moment I read these two sentences it clicked: I was no longer present with them. I was depriving them of what they needed to thrive by letting my own thoughts and presence wander to what seemed important in my life at the time.
A friend at the time also said in an unrelated conversation 'you get out what you put in', and, though we have all heard it so many times, it really is true. When I start investing in those children, connecting with them, being present with them, we all enjoy it and those times becomes precious treasures in our memories.
I don't have it all sorted, and I need to be reminded of this every day (just revisiting it to write this post is teaching me all over again and it was only a few weeks ago!), but I am beginning to learn that there is nothing more important to be thinking about than how I am interacting each moment with the people present with me. Presence is one of the greatest gifts that can be given or received, and you need no qualification, no finances, no high profile or great calling to give it. Just you, whoever you are.
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