It is by His power that God enables to do absolutely everything in our lives as it is written;
[28] For in him we live, and move, and have our being; Acts 17:28.
Every little thing that we take for granted, God makes it possible for us to do it. Waking up in the morning, going to work, bending over to tie our shoelaces, walking, the health which enables us to work and provide for families and to enjoy time with them, it all comes from God.
We are absolutely dependent upon God for our "everything" in the literal sense of the word.
Not only does He sustain us in our everyday lives by His power, but He also by His Grace allows us another day to ask for forgiveness for our sins. It is not often that I think about God's generosity towards me not only in terms of how He sustains but more importantly how He is ever merciful and allows me yet another opportunity to ask for forgiveness for our sins.
Sometimes we sleep without praying, or do it more out of duty than out of love. Sometimes it feels like a chore but if we took more time to think about how God by His mercies provides not only daily sustainance but also continues to give us opportunities to ask for forgiveness, we would cherish the time we spend with Him in prayer. If we took a moment to just think about all these things, we would not only be grateful for the opportunity to commune with Him through prayer but would also spend as much time as possible doing so as it is written;
[4] But we will give ourselves continually to prayer Acts 6:4.
...continuing instant in prayer Romans 12:12.
[6] Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. Philippians 4:6.
I must confess that I have taken God's generosity for granted for most of my life. He has blessed me my whole life and I have taken a lot of things for granted unfortunately as a result. I have always known that people have different types of problems and needs but it never occurred to me that i could ever be one of them. You never miss something until it is gone. I can say I never "missed" anything for most of my life until the last couple of years.
If you have never been sick, you can never fully relate when a person tells you how it feels. If you've never been homeless, gone without food, had noone to turn to, or been unable to do anything in general that most people are able to do, you can never fully relate to how anything can feel.
We can all never fully understand how any of these things feel until we experience them. My prayer is that I can be able to understand how blessed I am and not to take it for granted. To always be thankful and understand that I am not exempt from these things, and none of us are, and not to allow God's goodness and mercy toward to blind me from realizing how blessed I am by taking His blessings for granted. I hope you realize too how blessed you are. Some of you might be in bad shape right now but there's someone out there who's in worse shape. So whatever situation you are in, you are blessed and be thankful even for the fact that you are alive. Many have died not getting the opportunity to ask for forgiveness for their sins.
I left where I was for the last 4 yrs not knowing where I was going to end up or how I was going to survive when I got there. God had provided a full tuition scholarship for me to go to school while I was there. I felt that it was time for me to leave once I graduated but was uncertain as far as the destination was concerned. For the first time in my life, the possibility of becoming homeless became very real to me. God quickly made provisions and honestly, for the first time in my life I was very grateful to have a roof over my head. I have always been thankful but never actually took the time to think about the possibility of being homeless, especially in the winter time. Even where I had been for the last 4 yrs, God had been providing miraculously and I don't think I was as thankful as I should have been.
But I left and was in a new city, broke with barely enough to get where I am currently, no car, and no final destination. I was so broke that even if I wanted to make a U-turn to return to Spartanburg SC where I was, I would be unable to make it. I have been in Lubbock TX since the 22nd of December and since then God has used people who were the least likely to help as His tools. I have a roof over my head, food, warmth, and even more recently this last weekend, God has provided me with a car.
God used another person who was practically a stranger to provide me with the car that I am using as of Tuesday this week. He has taken care of the registration, insurance and all that. I am unemployed, so I had no hand in any of this in case if I were to say I worked hard and provided for myself. God has shown me that when you are helpless and utterly unable to trust in yourself, that is when He moves as is written;
[25] I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread Psalms 37:25.
[2] The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower. Psalms 18:2.
[7] Thou art my hiding place; thou shalt preserve me from trouble; thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance. Selah. Psalms 32:7
[4] I sought the LORD, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.
[7] The angel of the LORD encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them.
[17] The righteous cry, and the LORD heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles.
[19] Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all. Psalms 34:4,7,17,19.
When we think we have something to lean on, we trust in ourselves and don't trust Him. Even if I had had a job, there's no way I would have taken care of room and board, food, got a vehicle, insured and registered it, all of these things. God has shown me that in him I live, move and have my being, absolutely. If I had leaned on a job in the case that I had one, I would have fallen short of providing for myself as God has done in his power. Only God can take care of all our needs and He does it to the uttermost.
Only when we are flat on our backs, helpless, and weak can He move mightily. I can testify to that and there are many testimonies out there. Only when we are in a strait place, when we are betweeen a rock and a hard place, only when we cry for help and noone seems to hear, that's when He answers and that's when He moves His hand and delivers us from the day of trouble.
There is one thing I have realised out of all this.
[6] ...The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth. Exodus 34:6
He is gracious and merciful because I am a messed up man. The blessings are certainly not as a result of any good works on my part because
[22] ...I delight in the law of God after the inward man:
[23] But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.
[24] O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
Romans 7:22-24.
I am a sinsick soul needing to be healed by Christ the True Physician daily. I sin daily but I carry my cross daily also. I am a sinner but I am thankful that
....if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous 1 John 2:1.
[9] If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9.
It is definitely by his Grace that He forgives me of my sins, and gives me life providing for my needs even when there is noone to turn to or seems to be no way possible in my eyes for me to be delivered in the day of trouble.
He has been very generous with me such that I pray that by his power he can enable to be generous with others. He has used practical strangers to deliver me in the day of trouble and I hope I can be able to do the same for others. He has given me much and I pray that I can recognize that He is behind everything, I own nothing, I am nothing but dust, just as He is generous with me, I should do the same for others, as is written:
...unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more. Luke 12;48.
I contrast His goodness towards me versus my wretchedness and realize that He is yet teaching me another lesson. If as messed up as I am He still does all this good for me, He is teaching me about Grace.
[8] But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8.
None of us deserve grace. Because of our sins, we were all supposed to die and Christ could have chosen not to die for us but
[6] ...when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.
And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled Colossians 1:21.
If we were yet His enemies, alienated from Him by sin, weak in sin and unable to deliver ourselves from its bondage as is written,
[16] Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?
He is very good to us. We don't deserve the grace but He continues to allow us to wake up everyday giving us yet another chance to ask for forgiveness for our sins. Dying in our tresspasses against Him, we are doomed so he suffers long with us, hoping that we can realize how good He is to us by giving us yet another breath, another day to get things right with Him as is written;
[9] The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. 2 Peter 3:9.
I am learning this lesson through His deliverance. He has delivered me using people I do not know to provide everything for me. I am undeserving so it is pure grace. I am no better than any of you. I am just another sinner struggling to overcome sin everyday, yet He is ever good to me not only temporally, but more importantly gives me chance after to ask for forgiveness when I sin, and that is daily.
God is good and let us always be thankful for His goodness and mercy towards which we neither earn nor deserve but is out of His pure love for us.
[28] For in him we live, and move, and have our being; Acts 17:28.
Every little thing that we take for granted, God makes it possible for us to do it. Waking up in the morning, going to work, bending over to tie our shoelaces, walking, the health which enables us to work and provide for families and to enjoy time with them, it all comes from God.
We are absolutely dependent upon God for our "everything" in the literal sense of the word.
Not only does He sustain us in our everyday lives by His power, but He also by His Grace allows us another day to ask for forgiveness for our sins. It is not often that I think about God's generosity towards me not only in terms of how He sustains but more importantly how He is ever merciful and allows me yet another opportunity to ask for forgiveness for our sins.
Sometimes we sleep without praying, or do it more out of duty than out of love. Sometimes it feels like a chore but if we took more time to think about how God by His mercies provides not only daily sustainance but also continues to give us opportunities to ask for forgiveness, we would cherish the time we spend with Him in prayer. If we took a moment to just think about all these things, we would not only be grateful for the opportunity to commune with Him through prayer but would also spend as much time as possible doing so as it is written;
[4] But we will give ourselves continually to prayer Acts 6:4.
...continuing instant in prayer Romans 12:12.
[6] Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. Philippians 4:6.
I must confess that I have taken God's generosity for granted for most of my life. He has blessed me my whole life and I have taken a lot of things for granted unfortunately as a result. I have always known that people have different types of problems and needs but it never occurred to me that i could ever be one of them. You never miss something until it is gone. I can say I never "missed" anything for most of my life until the last couple of years.
If you have never been sick, you can never fully relate when a person tells you how it feels. If you've never been homeless, gone without food, had noone to turn to, or been unable to do anything in general that most people are able to do, you can never fully relate to how anything can feel.
We can all never fully understand how any of these things feel until we experience them. My prayer is that I can be able to understand how blessed I am and not to take it for granted. To always be thankful and understand that I am not exempt from these things, and none of us are, and not to allow God's goodness and mercy toward to blind me from realizing how blessed I am by taking His blessings for granted. I hope you realize too how blessed you are. Some of you might be in bad shape right now but there's someone out there who's in worse shape. So whatever situation you are in, you are blessed and be thankful even for the fact that you are alive. Many have died not getting the opportunity to ask for forgiveness for their sins.
I left where I was for the last 4 yrs not knowing where I was going to end up or how I was going to survive when I got there. God had provided a full tuition scholarship for me to go to school while I was there. I felt that it was time for me to leave once I graduated but was uncertain as far as the destination was concerned. For the first time in my life, the possibility of becoming homeless became very real to me. God quickly made provisions and honestly, for the first time in my life I was very grateful to have a roof over my head. I have always been thankful but never actually took the time to think about the possibility of being homeless, especially in the winter time. Even where I had been for the last 4 yrs, God had been providing miraculously and I don't think I was as thankful as I should have been.
But I left and was in a new city, broke with barely enough to get where I am currently, no car, and no final destination. I was so broke that even if I wanted to make a U-turn to return to Spartanburg SC where I was, I would be unable to make it. I have been in Lubbock TX since the 22nd of December and since then God has used people who were the least likely to help as His tools. I have a roof over my head, food, warmth, and even more recently this last weekend, God has provided me with a car.
God used another person who was practically a stranger to provide me with the car that I am using as of Tuesday this week. He has taken care of the registration, insurance and all that. I am unemployed, so I had no hand in any of this in case if I were to say I worked hard and provided for myself. God has shown me that when you are helpless and utterly unable to trust in yourself, that is when He moves as is written;
[25] I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread Psalms 37:25.
[2] The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower. Psalms 18:2.
[7] Thou art my hiding place; thou shalt preserve me from trouble; thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance. Selah. Psalms 32:7
[4] I sought the LORD, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.
[7] The angel of the LORD encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them.
[17] The righteous cry, and the LORD heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles.
[19] Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all. Psalms 34:4,7,17,19.
When we think we have something to lean on, we trust in ourselves and don't trust Him. Even if I had had a job, there's no way I would have taken care of room and board, food, got a vehicle, insured and registered it, all of these things. God has shown me that in him I live, move and have my being, absolutely. If I had leaned on a job in the case that I had one, I would have fallen short of providing for myself as God has done in his power. Only God can take care of all our needs and He does it to the uttermost.
Only when we are flat on our backs, helpless, and weak can He move mightily. I can testify to that and there are many testimonies out there. Only when we are in a strait place, when we are betweeen a rock and a hard place, only when we cry for help and noone seems to hear, that's when He answers and that's when He moves His hand and delivers us from the day of trouble.
There is one thing I have realised out of all this.
[6] ...The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth. Exodus 34:6
He is gracious and merciful because I am a messed up man. The blessings are certainly not as a result of any good works on my part because
[22] ...I delight in the law of God after the inward man:
[23] But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.
[24] O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
Romans 7:22-24.
I am a sinsick soul needing to be healed by Christ the True Physician daily. I sin daily but I carry my cross daily also. I am a sinner but I am thankful that
....if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous 1 John 2:1.
[9] If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9.
It is definitely by his Grace that He forgives me of my sins, and gives me life providing for my needs even when there is noone to turn to or seems to be no way possible in my eyes for me to be delivered in the day of trouble.
He has been very generous with me such that I pray that by his power he can enable to be generous with others. He has used practical strangers to deliver me in the day of trouble and I hope I can be able to do the same for others. He has given me much and I pray that I can recognize that He is behind everything, I own nothing, I am nothing but dust, just as He is generous with me, I should do the same for others, as is written:
...unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more. Luke 12;48.
I contrast His goodness towards me versus my wretchedness and realize that He is yet teaching me another lesson. If as messed up as I am He still does all this good for me, He is teaching me about Grace.
[8] But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8.
None of us deserve grace. Because of our sins, we were all supposed to die and Christ could have chosen not to die for us but
[6] ...when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.
And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled Colossians 1:21.
If we were yet His enemies, alienated from Him by sin, weak in sin and unable to deliver ourselves from its bondage as is written,
[16] Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?
He is very good to us. We don't deserve the grace but He continues to allow us to wake up everyday giving us yet another chance to ask for forgiveness for our sins. Dying in our tresspasses against Him, we are doomed so he suffers long with us, hoping that we can realize how good He is to us by giving us yet another breath, another day to get things right with Him as is written;
[9] The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. 2 Peter 3:9.
I am learning this lesson through His deliverance. He has delivered me using people I do not know to provide everything for me. I am undeserving so it is pure grace. I am no better than any of you. I am just another sinner struggling to overcome sin everyday, yet He is ever good to me not only temporally, but more importantly gives me chance after to ask for forgiveness when I sin, and that is daily.
God is good and let us always be thankful for His goodness and mercy towards which we neither earn nor deserve but is out of His pure love for us.
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