God Will Supply Your Needs

I'm so sorry that I've been absent for a month on my blog!  I've had a busy month on the author front, touring my books, searching for agents, and trying not to stress over it all.  That's partly why I've written this post.  It's not just my worries on the financial front, but others that sparked this post.  

There seems to be a lot of unnecessary worry over things that we don’t have control over.  The money for this month’s bills isn’t in.  If we have the money to pay the bills, we don’t have money for anything else.  Making ends meet is difficult, and it’s stressful.  But that doesn’t mean God doesn’t love or care for us.  Because Paul said, “But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:19)

But what happens when we’re still struggling?  We pray and pray and pray.  We cry out to God, begging for answers, but it doesn’t seem like our need is being met.  But we’re human, and our eyes are deceiving.  When was the last time you went hungry?  What was the last bill that you couldn’t pay? 

Psalm 37:25

I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.

God has made us a promise.  God has promised to supply all our needs, and in return, His seed (us) will not beg for bread (or anything else that you need.)  God doesn’t want His children struggling.  Why?  If we’re struggling, we can’t focus on Him, because our minds are on something else.  If we’re worrying, we’re pushing God out of the equation, and God needs to be right in the middle of that equation.

Your equation needs to look like this: 

God + Tithes/Offerings – Worry – The Devil = Peace and Needs Met

Take the worry out of your life.  God cares about you.  God is not going to let you suffer.  He has proven to me over and over again just how much He loves me.  I’m not rich, nor am I famous (yet), but God has supplied my need!  He’s given me money to pay my bills, to sow into other ministries and church, and the money to go out with my friends.  I may come close to being extremely low on cash, but God never fails in giving back what I sow! 

Notice that I’ve been talking about sowing seeds.  God loves a cheerful giver!  (2 Corinthians 9:7)  Don’t be stingy in giving God your money because really, you wouldn’t have gotten that money if it hadn’t been for God. 

Malachi 3:7-12

Even from the days of your fathers ye are gone away from mine ordinances, and have not kept them. Return unto me, and I will return unto you, saith the Lord of hosts. But ye said, Wherein shall we return?  Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.  Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation.  Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.  And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the Lord of hosts.  And all nations shall call you blessed: for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the Lord of hosts.

When we give tithes and offerings, God gives back to us.  He supplies us with His riches and glory!  Every need that we have will be met with blessings that we won’t have room to receive!  Oh how good God is!  He doesn’t let His children suffer.  We cause the suffering.  The devil causing our suffering.  So kick him out of the equation, kick worry out and you’re left with peace and every need supplied. 

Psalm 23:1

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

Where Is God? Why hasn't He heard my pleas?!

How many times have you wondered where God was in your distress?  Have you echoed David's words in Psalm 22:1?

My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?  Why are You so far from helping me, And from the words of my groaning?

You don't hear an immediate answer.  You cry out again.

O my God, I cry in the daytime, but You do not hear;... (Psalm 22:2)

You feel like everyone is getting their answers, but not you.

 They cried to You, and were delivered...  (Psalm 22:5)

Again you plea.

Be not far from Me, For trouble is near; For there is none to help. (Psalm 22:11)

You're weak.  You can't face the world on your own.  You need someone, but you can't find someone.  Your prayers are bouncing off the walls.  Face it.  We've all been there.

I think Psalms is probably one of the most relatable books of the Bible.  Why?  Because there is so much in it that we deal with on a daily basis.

Honestly, I can't tell you how many times I've read it.  It's comforting to know that I'm not alone in experiencing what I've gone through or am going through.

Take this Psalm for instance.  David was suffering.  And just like most Christians, we plea for someone to ease our suffering, and we beg for someone - God - to help us bear our troubles.  We can't bear them alone, but we don't let go like we should.

When we don't let go, God can't work in our lives.  He can't give us "the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding."  (Phil. 4:7)

God doesn't want us to suffer.  Suffering is a curse, brought on by the enemy.  God only deals in blessings.  He wants to help!

Eventually, in that same Psalm, David acknowledges that God "...has not despised nor abhorred the afflictions of the afflicted; Nor has he hidden His face from him; But when he cried to Him, He heard." (Psalm 22:24)

He came to his senses and realized that God wasn't the one despising or abhorring him and his people.  God had in fact heard his cries!

Don't let the enemy lie to you and tell you God isn't hearing you.  He is!  You just have to believe He'll help and then receive that help.  He's there for you to bear your burdens.  You just have to let Him. 

The world doesn't have to weigh on your shoulders.  God's there, like He always has been.

Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For My yoke is easy and My burden is light. (Matthew 11: 29, 30)

Too stressed to be blessed?

Do you know the old saying, "Too blessed to be stressed"?  Well, it's actually true, but we tend to lose sight of that during the stressful moments of our life.  Sure, we know that we're blessed, but when the world is weighing on your shoulders, it's hard to see that.  Really hard.

I battle stress and worry on a daily basis.  It's hard for me to overcome.  Hard but not impossible. 

I picked up my Promises for Women from God's Word book and was flipping through it.   I just wanted to read a few verses of something before going to sleep.  I notice the header, Stress, on one of the pages.  I began reading the verses it gave.  One of them was, Psalm 23.  I thought Well how on earth is that gonna help my stress?  I kept reading, hoping that I would come across something to use for when I'm stressed.  I ended up reading through seven passages about stress. 

You know, I was uncertain about how those certain passages spoke to my stress.  Until I came to the last passage.  Phillippians 4: 6-7

do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.  And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (ESV)

I'm not sure what version of the Bible is used in this book, but I like the wording of it.

Never worry about anything.  But in every situation let God know what you need in prayers and requests while giving thanks.  Then God's peace, which goes beyond anything we can imagine, will guard your thoughts and emotions through Christ Jesus.

Now, I've read these verses a hundred times before.  But, it struck me.  Why was I worrying about things that I couldn't control?  Why wasn't I seeking God about my worries and asking Him for help instead of doing things my way and by myself.  And God, well, He will guard your emotions and give you peace!

It's hard, I know, to let God take things in His hands.  Heck, we're stupid little fleshly humans.  We want to do things ourselves and not trust God.  When we shut Him out like that though, we're keeping ourselves from experiencing peace of mind.

Think about that for a moment.  We're giving up our peace solely because we don't want to trust God and stop worrying. 

My challenge for you (and me) is to give up the things that are stressing us and talk to God.  He'll guard us and give us peace.


As an author, these mostly pertains to fellow authors, but the tips may be helpful in addition to this post, at helping you de-stress.  Check out this blog post on my writing blog.

Stop Talking, Start Praying - Moving beyond our worries

Some things have been on my mind lately.  Mostly, they’ve been revolving around our country, what’s happening with it, and all these politics.  I’m not a very political person, and I usually don’t speak out about my politics.  This is still one of those times.  This post ISN’T about politics or how I view the running of this country.  This post is about something we’ve probably forgotten to do. 

PRAY.

I’m not saying that you don’t pray.  That’s between you and God, but what I’m saying is that it’s easy to FORGET to pray about important things.  Instead, we want to talk about it, get our feelings off our chest.  There’s nothing wrong with that, but sometimes, that can do more damage than good.

I strongly believe that we need to stop talking about it and start praying about it.  Talking won’t do any good.  It will lead you to worry unnecessarily or start unintentional debates that might not lead to the best of times. 

My family and I were discussing politics and some decisions we weren’t too thrilled about our president making, but I stopped the discussion and said, “It’s time we stop talking and start praying.”  Because, you know what?  God has us in His hands.  God will be the one who delivers His people out of the mess we find ourselves in.

Psalm 29:11 (Amplified Bible) says, “The Lord will give [unyielding and impenetrable] strength to His people; the Lord will bless His people with peace.”

So why should we keep talking about our problems, or the problems we MIGHT face when the Bible says that The Lord will give us strength; He will bless us with peace?  Isn’t that enough that enough to know that no matter what happens in our life, that God will give us strength and peace?  He isn’t going to let anything bad happen to His people. 

Sure, we all face trials and tribulations, but God will give us that peace and strength we need to survive it. 

This goes beyond politics.  This applies to everything in our lives.  We need to stop worrying and talking about it to praying about it and seeking out the only person who can help us – God. 

I’m not saying don’t discuss your problems with friends, family members, counselors, etc.  What I’m saying is, sometimes we need to talk to God about it.  Prayer changes everything.  So, stop talking about it and start praying about it.  You’ll feel much better about it in the end.

Why so negative?

Negativity is like a poison.  It spreads until finally it's taken over your mind.  It sits there and dwells until finally, you can't see anything positive.  You don't speak positively, everything is negative speaking.  Well, the Bible tells us that "Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit." (Prov. 18:21 NKJV)

We are supposed to mind our tongue.  We can do the most good or the most damage by using just our mouth.  It is the member of our body that will keep us in the most trouble.  Since this is the case, then why should we speak negatively about the things in our life.  We will only make things worse on ourselves by speaking this way.  Why not speak good things into our lives instead of speaking the bad things?

Just a few chapters over, the Bible says, "Whoever guards his mouth and tongue keeps his soul from troubles." (Prov. 21:23 NKJV)  If you speak badly, you're only bringing trouble to yourself.  So why should we sit back and dwell on the things that we see as negative?  Why should we say the negative things that we are thinking?

I have to admit, I'm not always an optimistic person.  I try to be, and I honestly need to be more optimistic than pessimistic.  It wasn't until recently did I start thinking about how badly these negative thoughts affect our lives and attitudes.

James 3: 5 says, "Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things.  See how great a forest a little fire kindles!"  Don't let your tongue spread the negativity around like a poison!  Speak good things into existence.

Have you ever thought about the negative things you say and how they actually impact your life?  Why say that you're living a bad life?  Why not say, "I will live a good life.  I will live a happy life!"  Doesn't that sound much better than thinking and speaking, "Well, it's a bad life for me.  It'll never get better."  With that attitude it won't!

God doesn't want us miserable.  He doesn't want us to worry.  He wants us happy, healthy and whole.

Think about it.  Doesn't negativity and worrying go hand in hand?  Of course it does!  With that negative thinking, you're going to be worrying about your future which GOD HOLDS IN HIS HANDS!  He knows what He is doing.  Why can't we just trust Him?

"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God, and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." (Phil. 4:6,7)

Why should we think negatively when it says that "the peace of God" will guard our hearts and minds?

Paul said to fill our minds with "...things that are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy - meditate on these things." (Phil. 4: 8)  He didn't say to think negatively! He said, basically, to think on good things!

Even in Colossians 3:2, it says, "Set your  mind on things above, not on things on the earth."

Why worry when you don't have to?  The things on earth don't matter!  It's God that matters.  It's God's plans!  Quit thinking about what could go wrong, and start thinking about what could go right!  God has His hand in our lives.  It's Him we should be seeking when we feel negative and down and out.  It's God who knows what we need in our lives.  Don't push him out because you think something will go wrong.  Bring Him in instead.  It can only get better for it.