“It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in humans.” — Psalm 118:8
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Some of my best memories are going to one college football game a year for several years when our kids were still at home. A friend had season tickets and gave us four tickets to one game each year, insisting that we accept the free gift. I was his pastor for eight years and couldn’t afford to go to games, and his kindness was much appreciated.
When we attended games on Saturdays, we liked to get there early and hear the marching band play, see the players warm up, and take in the whole experience, but some of the best people we saw worked in the concession stands. Most of them worked hard with a pleasant attitude for little pay, even though they could sometimes be ignored or mistreated. I’m sure many had dreams of having a new car, big house and a large bank account like the big-time college football players who’d go on to play pro football.
Even though many of us think we’d be completely happy if we had everything we wanted and no financial stress, that’s not always true. Some of the most rich and famous people are unhappy and have few friends.
As Christians, we should look to God when we’re needy — our hunger, thirst, emotional pain and lack of resources encourage us to call on our Heavenly Father to meet our needs.
The Bible tells us about a woman who had almost nothing, and God sent a prophet to make sure she had everything she and her family needed — for the rest of her life. After the unnamed woman’s husband died, she had debts she couldn’t pay and was afraid the creditor would make her two sons slaves to pay off the debt. The prophet Elisha was up to the task because he knew what God could do with very little. “Elisha replied to her, ‘How can I help you? Tell me, what do you have in your house?’ ‘Your servant has nothing there at all,’ she said, ‘except a small jar of olive oil'” (2 Kings 4:2).
As the prophet instructed her to borrow containers from her neighbors and she obeyed in faith, God multiplied the oil in the jar so that she had plenty of oil for her family, and extra to sell, pay the debts and meet all of her needs. After all the containers were full, she asked the prophet what to do. “She went and told the man of God, and he said, ‘Go, sell the oil and pay your debts. You and your sons can live on what is left'” (2 Kings 4:7). In a remarkable way, God met every need. That Old Testament miracle is very similar to how Jesus multiplied a small basket of fish and bread into enough food to feed thousands.
In our individual lives as well as in our churches, God is able to do great work when we pray and rely on His power rather than trying to figure things out ourselves. “It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in humans” (Psalm 118:8). When we feel overwhelmed as we work, let’s remember what God said to Paul when he was weak and weary: “But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me” (2 Corinthians 12:9).
Even when we run on empty, God can show up and work in our situation in ways we could never imagine. We just need to fully surrender to Him and walk in faith, especially when our nature wants to take control and be the driver of our life.
— Bill Kent, Pastor of Memorial Baptist Church, Sylvania, Georgia
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