S |
aturday,
August 7, was my birthday. I woke
up and found
myself a year older than when I went to bed on Friday evening. Boy, did time
fly during
the night! In reality, though, I had been
gaining ground one day at a time since my last birthday. It took me
365 days to reach my age and the following
day I
started on
the next year. I am looking forward to that milestone too. The
alternative to having another birthday is not really on my mind.
On
Saturday morning, as I
was preparing breakfast,
I couldn’t help but reflect on how my life had changed
over the past year. I found
myself musing over the good times and the challenges that had marked
my path since August 7 of last year.
I came to
realize that my years are made up of days and I how I live each one of them
reflects on my life as a
whole.
Although this past
year had its share of challenges and setbacks, I can say
without reservation that God has been faithful just as
He has been in the 57 years
leading up to this one. I have not gone hungry, I have had a warm place
to sleep, I have had employment, I have friends, and I have felt God’s presence
with me on a daily basis. All these are God’s provision for my life and, according
to His
word, He
will continue to provide for my needs.
This
is the truth of Leviticus
25:18-22, "'Follow
my decrees and be careful to obey my laws, and you will live safely in the
land. Then the land will yield its fruit, and you will eat your fill and live
there in safety. You may ask, "What will we eat in the seventh year if we
do not plant or harvest our crops?" I will send you such a blessing in the
sixth year that the land will yield enough for three years. While you plant
during the eighth year, you will eat from the old crop and will continue to eat
from it until the harvest of the ninth year comes in.”
At
first wash you may wonder why I picked this passage and what, exactly, the
verse is saying. Today, a prosperity gospel is extremely popular.
The message of this movement is very straightforward, God will prosper His
own. I agree that the Bible speaks of the prosperity of God’s people, but
I do not believe it means God intends for there to be a Cadillac in every
garage nor millions of dollars in every believer’s bank account.
The
verse from Leviticus addresses the cycle the Children of Israel were to follow
once they settled in the Promised Land. They were to sow their crops for
six years and they were to allow the land to rest in the seventh year. Understandably
they wondered what they would eat during the time the land produced no
crops. God’s answer is clear that
in the sixth year He would provide
enough food for the three years yet
to come.
At
no time did He say the people
would never
have to work the land again!!! In fact, the opening verse of this passage
directs the people to follow God’s decrees and to obey His laws. This
means we must remain faithful to God’s commands at all times, day in and day
out. We are not to do as we please; we
are to do what pleases Him. When obedience becomes a lifestyle for the
believer, he will then experience God’s provision. God has promised to
supply our needs, not our wants. The abundance of food during the sixth year
was to meet the people’s need for the next three
years. God never offered it as a retirement plan.
God
addresses this very issue in the last part of
the passage. When the people planted during
the eighth year, they would have
food to sustain them until the new crop came in. We need to pay attention
to that. The people returned to sowing and planting and God continued to
provide. It was God who made the land produce crops each year, not the
people. By sowing and planting, God allowed the people to work with
Him. They could plant the seed; they could not make it grow!
This
is still true today. God expects us to do what we can with what He has
given us. Our job is to remain faithful and obedient and He has promised
to provide our needs. He provides them daily and He continues to provide for
us even when the land produces no crops. That is the kind of God we
serve, one who loves us, who cares for us, and one who provides for our
needs.
Take
a good look
at your life and see how God has provided for you. From the mountain top
of today look back over the trail of years and see His hand in
everything. Then come down from the mountain determined to walk in
faithfulness and obedience to God for the
days and years yet to come. Remember,
years are made up of days. How is your day going?
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