Have you ever been in a place where you needed something from God—healing, sustainment, increase, provision—and instead of receiving that thing, it seemed like you received the opposite? God told you what He would do in your life, He promised you more, but it seems like all you ever have is less—less time to walk in purpose, less money to pay the bills, less energy to live a healthy life, less mental capacity to be there for your loved ones. You thought that with God, the situation would get better, but from where you’re standing, it seems to be getting worse. I’ve found myself in this place many times in my journey of faith…I am in this place now. In the past, I’ve wondered if this place was an indication that God was not with me. In the past, I’ve wondered if this place was an indication that I was going the wrong direction. But, if this journey has taught me anything, it’s that things are never what they seem to be.
When we don’t have enough, God wants us to see that He is more than enough.
God always wants to reveal something to us in the middle of our lack. When we lack energy, He wants us to see that He is our sustainer. When we lack resources, He wants us to see that He is our provider. When we lack health, He wants us to see that He is our healer. When we lack mental capacity, He wants us to see that He is our source of peace. Many of us are running on empty, because we’re struggling to carry a burden that was never ours to begin with. The burden that God gives us is light. With this burden, we can live free…free of stress, free of worry…because we know that we serve a God that has gone before us to provide everything that we need.
Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30 NLT)
If we desire to continue this journey of faith, if we want to receive the promises that God has for us, it starts here…it starts with understanding that we have a God that has prepared the way for us. He has not given us the burden of bringing His vision to pass, that is a burden to heavy for us to bear. Our job is to believe what He says about us. Our job is to believe in the promises that He has given us; our job is to trust Him to bring it to pass in our lives. So, how do we do this? How do we practically live a life of trusting in God?
Obedience is how we show our trust in God.
For many people, the word obedience has a negative connotation attached to it, but today, I want to shed some light on how obedience actually has a positive affect on our lives.
Obedience simply means to follow the instructions of an authority figure. For us, this means following the instructions of the One that is sovereign over our lives. Our God has a plan for each of us…a plan that includes His desire to be glorified through us. But we must understand that God’s plan will not manifest in our lives automatically. The bible says that Jesus stands at the door and knocks, but we must let Him in.
“Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends...” (Revelation 3:20 NLT)
Scripture also tells us that God knows the plans that He has for us, plans to prospers us…plans to give us a hope and a future.
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. (Jeremiah 29:11 NIV)
I want to point out that this scripture does not say that we know the plans that God has for us, it says that He knows the plans that He has for us. This means that although we might have been given a vision from God, we don’t have His plan. When we walk by faith, we are trusting that God will lead us along the plan that He already has. He is the only one that has the map to our destiny. He is our guide…this is why obedience is so vital to us.
The story of Abraham is a great example of what it looks like to live a life of obedience. God spoke a promise over Abraham’s life. He gave Abraham the vision, but He did not give Abraham the plan. Instead, God instructed Abraham to leave his native country, to go to an unknown destination.
The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you. I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.” So Abram departed as the Lord had instructed, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran. (Genesis 12:1-4 NLT)
Abraham obeyed God, and I want us to understand that his decision to do so was vital to his destiny. The fulfillment of God’s promise depended on Abraham’s decision to leave his home in faith. If Abraham had not obeyed God, the children of Israel would have never known the promised land.
For a moment, I want you to think of the promises that God has spoken over you. Maybe He has shown you something in His word. Maybe He has given you a vision of your future. If that is the case, I am certain that He has not also given you His plan. I am certain that He has not given you the play by play on how you will reach your destiny. So how will you get there? By following His instructions…through obedience.
Obedience is how we reach purpose.
Abraham’s life—the fact that he is the father of our faith—is the result of his continued willingness to obey God. Even when he was told to send away his first born son, He obeyed God.
This upset Abraham very much because Ishmael was his son. But God told Abraham, “Do not be upset over the boy and your servant. Do whatever Sarah tells you, for Isaac is the son through whom your descendants will be counted. But I will also make a nation of the descendants of Hagar’s son because he is your son, too.” So Abraham got up early the next morning, prepared food and a container of water, and strapped them on Hagar’s shoulders. Then he sent her away with their son, and she wandered aimlessly in the wilderness of Beersheba. (Genesis 21:11-14 NLT)
Abraham sent away a son that he loved. I can’t imagine that heartache that he felt in that moment. But did that stop him from obeying God? No. Scripture tells us that some time later, God instructed Abraham to sacrifice his second born son Isaac...the one that was promised to him and Sarah…the heir to the promises of God.
Then the Lord said to him, “No, your servant will not be your heir, for you will have a son of your own who will be your heir.” Then the Lord took Abram outside and said to him, “Look up into the sky and count the stars if you can. That’s how many descendants you will have!” (Genesis 15:4-5 NLT)
Some time later, God tested Abraham’s faith. “Abraham!” God called. “Yes,” he replied. “Here I am.” “Take your son, your only son—yes, Isaac, whom you love so much—and go to the land of Moriah. Go and sacrifice him as a burnt offering on one of the mountains, which I will show you.” (Genesis 22:1-2 NLT)
At this point, Abraham had already lost his first born son, now God is asking him to sacrifice his promise? This is unbelievable. How could God promise Abraham something, make him wait 25 years to receive it, and then ask for it back?
I’ve found that God will often test us at the point of our lack.
When we don’t have enough, our natural inclination is to hold on to what we have…our natural inclination is to make sure that we stretch what we have for as long as we can. But, God says that we are not the provider, He is. This means that we don’t have to ration out what we have. We have a God that has already gone before us to provide everything that we need. He is the God that makes sure that we have more than enough and plenty left over to share with others. He has already sent the resources that we need ahead of us. And He will ensure that we have the strength and peace that we’ll need along the way.
So, when we are in the place of lack—the place where we are about to run out—God will often test us. When we lack resources, God will ask us to give from what we have left. When we lack time, God will ask us to serve someone else. When we lack the mental capacity to handle our own battles, God will ask us to sow into the life of someone else. This is how He tests our heart. This is how He checks to see where our trust lies. Do we trust in the Source, or do we trust in the resource? This was the case in Abraham’s story.
You see, God had given Abraham a promise. He told Abraham that his descendants would be as great as the stars in the sky. And according to God, Isaac was the son through whom this promise would come– he was the resource. So, God tested Abraham’s heart. Was Abraham’s trust in the fact that Isaac would bear the promise, or was Abraham’s trust in God alone?
So Abraham placed the wood for the burnt offering on Isaac’s shoulders, while he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them walked on together, Isaac turned to Abraham and said, “Father?” “Yes, my son?” Abraham replied. “We have the fire and the wood,” the boy said, “but where is the sheep for the burnt offering?” “God will provide a sheep for the burnt offering, my son,” Abraham answered. And they both walked on together. When they arrived at the place where God had told him to go, Abraham built an altar and arranged the wood on it. Then he tied his son, Isaac, and laid him on the altar on top of the wood. And Abraham picked up the knife to kill his son as a sacrifice. At that moment the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!” “Yes,” Abraham replied. “Here I am!” “Don’t lay a hand on the boy!” the angel said. “Do not hurt him in any way, for now I know that you truly fear God. You have not withheld from me even your son, your only son.”(Genesis 22:6-12 NLT)
Abraham chose obedience over reason. He chose to trust in the goodness of God…that He would never go back on His word. There was absolutely no way that Abraham could have known how God would provide, by that didn’t matter to him. Abraham was sold out to God…he was loyal to God alone. He made the decision that he would withhold nothing from God. And because of this, he received his promise!
This is what God wants to see in all of us! He wants to see if we trust Him even when our circumstances tell us not to. He wants to see if we will obey Him even when it doesn’t make sense. Sometimes our seasons of lack are not what they seem to be. Sometimes they are a setup from God…this is how He reveals himself to us…this is how He deepens our understanding of who He is.
And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and, behold, behind him a ram caught in the thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt-offering in the stead of his son. And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah-jireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of Jehovah it shall be provided. (Genesis 22:13-14 ASV)
Abraham knew the Lord; he had been walking with Him for decades. But in this moment, He experienced Him like never before.
When God tests us, it’s always with the intention of blessing us.
God tested Abraham to see if he would withhold his promise, but that wasn’t the only reason He tested him. God wanted to reveal himself in that moment. God wanted to show Abraham that He is Jehovah Jireh, the God will always provide. And I believe that this is what God wants to show us in the middle of our journey of believing in Him.
What are you believing God for right now? Maybe you’re believing for abundance in an area of your life, but all you see is lack. If so, I want to encourage you to lean into God with what you have.
I want to share one more story from scripture with you. It’s a bit long, but I promise it’s worth it!
Then the Lord said to Elijah, “Go and live in the village of Zarephath, near the city of Sidon. I have instructed a widow there to feed you.” So he went to Zarephath. As he arrived at the gates of the village, he saw a widow gathering sticks, and he asked her, “Would you please bring me a little water in a cup?” As she was going to get it, he called to her, “Bring me a bite of bread, too.” But she said, “I swear by the Lord your God that I don’t have a single piece of bread in the house. And I have only a handful of flour left in the jar and a little cooking oil in the bottom of the jug. I was just gathering a few sticks to cook this last meal, and then my son and I will die.” But Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid! Go ahead and do just what you’ve said, but make a little bread for me first. Then use what’s left to prepare a meal for yourself and your son. For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: There will always be flour and olive oil left in your containers until the time when the Lord sends rain and the crops grow again!” So she did as Elijah said, and she and Elijah and her family continued to eat for many days. There was always enough flour and olive oil left in the containers, just as the Lord had promised through Elijah. (1 Kings 17:8-16 NLT)
Here we have a woman in need. She is about to run out of flour to make bread, and God wants to provide for her. But instead of just blessing her with more flour, he asks her to make a sacrifice first. God asks her to feed someone else out of her lack. He asks her to bless someone out of a need that she has. Through the prophet Elijah, God tells her that she will always have enough flour and oil left in her containers, but first, she had to take a leap of faith.
It’s not faith when we trust God as a last resort. It’s faith when we trust God first.
At the sight of our faith, God releases His promise into our lives. But we have to be willing to trust Him with what we have. You see, when we hold on to what we have, we don’t leave ourselves room to receive from God. But when we let go, when we release what we have, we position ourselves in the right posture to receive from Him.
So, what are you holding in your hands? Are you gripping on to your resources because you are afraid that you will run out? Are you gripping on to your time, because you don’t have enough as it is? Are you holding on to your gifts, because you are afraid that you don’t have the strength to help someone else?
When we give God our first, He ensures that we have more than enough.
When the widow fed Elijah first, God made sure that she always had more than enough. And He will do the same for you. In this season, He wants to know if you will trust Him. He wants to reveal himself to you at a deeper level. He wants to show you that He is all you need. He is more than enough. If you place your trust in Him, you will never run out.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, thank you for reminding me today that I don’t have to carry the weight of my destiny on my shoulders. Thank you for reminding me that the burden that you give is easy, and light. I know that because of your love, I can live free…and I can have peace. Today, I have been reminded that your promises come through obedience. So, I am making the decision to follow you, wherever you lead me. I am making the decision to trust you, even when I can’t see how it will work out. I know that you are a way maker. I know that you are my provider. I know that as long as I place my trust in you, you will make sure that I have more than enough. I love you Father. In Jesus’ name, amen.
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