Who Provides You With Your Stuff?

I've been unemployed for nine months now.  During this time I have often asked God (sometimes out of frustration and anger) why he seems to not want me to provide for my family.  More times than I can count, I have told people "I don't want to be wealthy.  I just want to have enough to pay the bills!  Why can't God appreciate that?"  It hasn't been until the last couple of months that I've begun to understand the answer to that question.  

As men we are given this notion that we need to provide for our families.  Even in families where both husband and wife work outside the home to make ends meet, often it's the man who has the larger of the two incomes.  Without that job, the family would be hard pressed to continue in the lifestyle to which they have grown accustomed.  It's this mentality that has led to the cultural impression that a man's identity is largely wrapped around his career.  Without a job or a career, what is a man?   Take away his ability to work and you largely take away his masculinity.  Another thing that I've told a lot of people through this experience is that men are not made to be home during the day.  

Going back a few posts ago, I mentioned that my family's past is largely wrapped around farming - mostly dairy farming.  My uncle Al had a saying - "Everything we have comes from udders."  That saying made a lot of people chuckle.  The point here is that Al had it right when he implies that things (i.e. success, houses, cars, TV's, stereos, vacations, etc.) don't come from our own efforts.  I see your eyebrows quirking here.  I know that you put in a lot of overtime to buy that truck.  I know that the government took money out of your hard earned paycheck and gave it back to you (interest free) in the form of a tax return that you used to buy that 52 inch plasma TV.  It's your money, right?  You worked hard for that!

Here's what I've learned - and it might upset you.  It's not your money.  It's not your truck.  It's not your plasma TV.  It's not your stereo.  It's not your Blackberry.  It's not yours, it's not mine, it doesn't belong to the bank or the credit card company either.

Let's take a look:

Job 1:10, 11

Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land.

Job has become the biblical cliche for the man who lost everything he had.  Still, ask yourself how he got everything he had.  These verses clearly state that even satan knew that everything Job had came from God's provision.

Luke 12:21-34

22Then Jesus said to his disciples: "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. 23Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. 24Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! 

Here, Jesus tells all who follow him - "Look.  I'll take care of you.  Don't depend on your own provision - depend on mine."

I Kings 17: 2-4

Then the word of the LORD came to Elijah: 3 "Leave here, turn eastward and hide in the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan. 4 You will drink from the brook, and I have ordered the ravens to feed you there."

God provided Elijah with food and water even when He scorched the rest of the surrounding land.  

John 6: 10-13

10Jesus said, "Have the people sit down." There was plenty of grass in that place, and the men sat down, about five thousand of them. 11Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish.

 12When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, "Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted." 13So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.

Jesus provided food for all these people who had nothing.  What's more, he did it in a way that was obvious to his followers so they could see how His love provides.  

Guys, I've learned a hard lesson from being unemployed.  For a long time I've been leaning on my own abilities to provide for myself and my family. You can argue that the reason why I lost my job was because my focus was in the wrong direction - I'm not sure I know that for certain.  Yet, I can tell you that I have been humbled before God.  Even now, I wait on God daily for His provision for my family.  As I write this I know that I have enough to get my family through the day.  But tomorrow is still in question.

Am I content?  Contentment is difficult when you can only see the next step in front of you.  Am I where I want to be at this point when I'm in my 40's?  Not even close!  But I think the real question is am I where God wants me to be?   That is the quest that I am on.  

I encourage you to re-evaluate your attitude toward who provides you with your stuff.  In addition, if you have a lot of stuff - stuff God has provided you with - how are you using it?  If you really believe that it all belongs to God (the house, the car, the boat, the 4-wheeler) are you using it for own enjoyment or could you be using the stuff to help other people see  God in your life?

Thanks for stopping by.

Armchair Husband - Final Thoughts - I Promise

As soon as I finished the last post I realized that I left out a very important piece to this jigsaw puzzle.  The piece I missed is the fact that, in and of ourselves, we will fail at anything we attempt to do.  

Philippians 4:13 "I can do everything through him who gives me strength."

This piece of the Bible from the Apostle Paul is simple yet heavy with truth.  Equally heavy with truth is the fact that without him who gives you strength, you're a loser every time.  

When it comes to the practice (and I do mean practice) of taking your marriage from a point where it's simply okay to the point where either you or your wife can brag about your spouse to your friends,  you simply cannot do it without God in your life.  If you try - you will fail. 

Okay - now that I've completely disillusioned you, let me give you the good news.  I've posted a graphic at the top right of the blog page that shows how God created humans in his own image and in three parts - spirit, soul, and body.  If you're reading this in an RSS feed click over to www.4BetterOr4Worse.blogspot.com to see the graphic.  To review quickly, when we became a Christian we exchanged our blackened, dead spirit for the Spirit of God.  This is a gift from God simply called grace and it means that the full strength of God (see Phil 4:13 above) resides in us.  

You know this, right?  So what?   Remember when I said that improvement in your relationship comes with consistency over time?  It's this consistent practice where most men get derailed.  It's like a new years resolution to lose that extra 20 pounds that never makes it past the first of February.  This is what happens if you don't tap in to the Spirit.  That thing that you and your spouse agreed to change for the better or your relationship becomes mundane, time consuming, the benefits aren't coming as quickly as our immediate gratification culture would like, and you just don't wanna anymore.  

Bill and Annabel Gillham run a ministry called Lifetime Guarantee (www.lifetime.org).  The two have written books and have become an integral part of the Association of Exchanged Life Ministries.  In Bill's book Lifetime Guarantee, Bill uses the analogy of mowing the lawn.  He doesn't want to mow the lawn.  He'd much rather be doing something else.  What he describes is the recognition of the Holy Spirit in his life and how he allows the Spirit to take over and strengthen him (see Phil 4:13 above) to stay on track.  He says that God mows the lawn and Bill becomes the method God uses to get it done.  

Let's go back to my Tae Bo workouts with Billy Blanks.  I've got some weight to lose.  I know that if I consistently stick with the program the chances are good that not only will I lose the weight but I'll also get some secondary benefits from it - like being more physically pleasing to the eye of my wife.   

If I go it alone and do this my own way - I'm all done with Tae Bo and I'm going to the bar for a beer and a football game.  I really don't want to work out because it's uncomfortable, time consuming, I'm not going to be skinny tomorrow, and I'm just not interested in doing that anymore.   

However, if I get out of the way and let the Holy Spirit strengthen me (see Phil 4:13 above), the Spirit will empower me to get down in the basement, the Spirit will lead me through the workout today and every day.  If I keep my sights set on putting myself aside and letting the Spirit live and work through me I'll have the strength (see Phil 4:13 above) to be consistent over time, get in better shape, lose the extra pounds, and see my wife give me the come hither look more often.

Guys - this is the path to success.  Whether it's your marriage, your master's degree, or cleaning the garage - you certainly can do anything through him who gives you strength.  The key to seeing the success is consistency over time.  This consistency over time comes from the everyday practice of getting out of the way and letting the Spirit of God live through your life.  

If you have any questions or you're uncertain how this works in your life, leave a comment.  Let's talk about it.