Cleaning the mirror with furniture polish…not so much.
The other day, I was thinking about how we sometimes go about our lives without the proper tools, making things much harder for ourselves, or looking for the help in the wrong places.
Take peace, for instance. When we need peace in our lives, we might try meditation, medication, alcohol, or a costly get-away. All the while, peace is just an ask away. Ph. 4:6-7 says, “Be anxious for nothing, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” The peace that comes from God transcends all understanding. We can get that out of our tool box, if we just trust Him enough to ask.
How about discernment? That’s the ability to judge well…to judge our actions, our reactions, our words, our Facebook posts, our attire…discernment. We might try to base that off what others are saying or doing, or how we want them to react to us. Ps. 119:66 is a great reminder that there is only one place we should be looking for advice on those things: “Teach me knowledge and good judgment, for I trust your commands.” God is the One who will give us the good judgment (discernment) that we need as we walk through this life and navigate these choppy waters.
And what about financial troubles. We get title loans, put things on credit cards, and go into more and more debt. Are we tithing? There are blessings that come with giving the Lord the tenth that belongs to Him. We came into this world with nothing, and all that we have came from Him. We are blessed. When we give back to Him that tenth, He will honor His word in Malachi 3:9-11, when He says, “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it. I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not drop their fruit before it is ripe,” says the Lord Almighty.”
The Lord uses the tithes we bring to bless others around us. When we are all being obedient, there will be more than enough for everyone, but we will also be blessed when we give. If you’re having financial troubles, my advice to you today is to tithe. I know the math doesn’t make sense, but I promise you, God will faithfully honor it, and will meet your needs.
Don’t struggle through life using the wrong tools. Look to God and His Word for all that you need. He has all this and more waiting for you now.
You’re not alone,
jamie
considering the word 