Praize Blogs

I woke up this morning with this word in my head. That usually means that I am to look it up. There was a piece of a scripture in my head, so I decided to check it out with the concordance that I like to search through. I was thinking about the scripture where Jesus talks about taking no thought about tomorrow. But I didn't remember what he said about sufficient until I read the scripture. Matthew 6:34 

So, I found the scripture and I knew what was in my heart when I awoke, but I didn't expect to find what the whole scripture said.

(KJV)Take no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day [is] the evil thereof. Matthew 6:34

Now, I don't know about you, but this seems like something I didn't really understand in my finite human thinking. So I will share about how God works in teaching me when he wakes me up with a word as He did today. I find the scripture in the concordance that was in my mind, read the scripture (the whole scripture in entirety) and pray for His Wisdom and then go through other scriptures (in entirety) that have the same word as I continue to pray for what God is trying to teach me through these scriptures.

Veering off slightly here, I will share with you what I have been doing these last several years. I have several children who are in school and I have been involved with helping them in their endeavors as God has allowed me to. Sometimes it is with rent and bills, sometimes a purchase of books or school supplies and sometimes it is with helping with food. Most of the time everything comes out really close to even and I know that my planning and scrimping to make it work has paid off. I am not new to this with raising so many children as a single mom while going to school myself. I often think that if they would just give me their money, I could make it stretch so much farther, but that is my pride (my thoughts) coming through and it doesn't allow for their own growth as God shows them to depend on Him as He taught me. Anyway, a few months ago, my oldest son came to me and told me that his mother-in-laws house they were living in was being repossesed and that there was no way to save it. They had been living there for 2 years and were notified of problems not too long after they moved in. I had at one time thought of buying it myself, but was very glad for that not being the case after they moved in and I saw the condition of the house and the structural problems it had. They had been looking for another place that would not only house their family, but their pets. But no one was agreeable to having someone move in with three dogs. My daughter in law always had dogs and they are just as much family to her as her children, so that had become an additional challenge. My son asked me if I would consider buying a house they could live in for the years it took for them to complete their education and then as they moved on it would be the house I would either move into or could rent out or sell. Talk about a leap of faith!!! I had never considered buying a house since I had a talk with God years ago about owning a house and he pointed out my love of things and how if I had a house when He came back, I wouldn't want to leave it and go with Him. I was humbled when I realized how true that was about my character. So, how would God answer with this new idea of buying a house. I prayed for quite a bit of time and after much prayer decided to take the leap of faith. After all, just as I "went to check out" nursing without a commitment, I could check out buying a house without a commitment also. I had always known that when I went to buy things they would tell me my credit was not good enough and deny me, so for years I never checked but paid for anything in cash. I refused credit card offers and buying on time as just something I was not able to do and went on with my life. My first surprise was that I qualified and for a large sum of money. As a friend of mine says, "I was gob-smacked!" There sat my son with the same look on his face, but then we had to figure out what was actually feasible with my present finances. It had to be something I could afford by myself if no one else had the funds to come in to help. Also we had a substantial down payment that had to be raised of which I didn't have anything saved up. Added to this the need to stay up to date with my present commitment of bills along with already promised funds for entry fee into medical school to my other son. I added it all up and it was more than I made in a couple of months. So this doubting Thomasina put out the fleece. If it is meant to be, it will happen. If not, then another door will open. I won't take you through the days of just trusting for the sufficiency of the day and seeing the He was faithful not to leave us in need through the whole time or the times that I asked God why I ever started into this. Things are always so much easier when you don't find yourself in the mid-air leap of faith. Ground seems so much safer. Anyway, fast forward to this day. My son and family are moved in and living in a beautiful house that God provided. How do I know He provided? I went back and added up all of the bills, incidentals, cost of entrance fee to medical school along with the downpayment on the house and I didn't make that much money. I didn't beg or steal and I can't tell you how the money stretched, but it was there. Now it is a miracle to me, but it came from the One who fed 5,000 on 2 fish and 5 barley loaves, so I must say that I am in awe!!

So, back to the verse of sufficient. I have now looked up other scriptures to learn what God wants to teach me about this word. I recently studied with a pastor who said that we all have our own ideas about what we believe and we study the Bible through those ideas to fit in with what we believe and make it more accurate. That didn't ring true with me and I wondered why until today as I realized how He leads me to the teachings He has for me. When I come to a word or verse that Jesus has brought to mind, I might have an idea of what I believe on it, but open my mind for what He is going to show me. I have a finite understanding, but since He wrote the book, created the World, created me, He has much more understanding, so I will listen to Him. I have a knowledge that He loves me and won't show me wrong. He cannot lie and although at times it seems the Bible contradicts itself, I know that it doesn't except in my own understanding. If I pray and let Him, He will show me Truth of what His Word says.

In Matthew 6, it is a continuation of the Sermon on the Mount and an instructional sermon that encompassed so much knowledge. Some of it is clearing up teachings that had come down through years of study of the old scriptures and become distorted from what God originally had intended. Some of it was about human nature and our own natural inclinations and some was just plain teaching about how our relationship with the Father was to be along with prophecy of end times. What an all encompassing sermon that astonished the people. So as I study why Jesus says sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof, I realize he is referring to thoughts of tomorrow. If we spend our time worrying about tomorrow, we will be caught up in a vortex of lack of faith. Your thoughts must be stayed on Him so that we can be kept in perfect peace. (Isaiah 26:3) If you read earlier through Matthew 6, He talks about not worrying (vs. 28-32) 

So now I close with two other scriptures where we are taught about sufficient.

2 Corinthians 3:5-6 Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God; who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.

2 Corinthians 12:9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.

May your day be blessed in His sufficiency and His strength be evidenced in your life daily.

Love in Him~~Debby