Showing posts with label needy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label needy. Show all posts

The God Who Gives

After talking about encouragement yesterday I studied it a little further. This morning's plan was to share Romans 15:5 which says: Now may the God who gives perseverance and encouragement grant you to be of the same mind with one another according to Christ Jesus.(NASB) First of all, it's pretty amazing that He just gives us encouragement. There's no stipulation - when you pray, if you ask, if you follow all the rules in the book; it just says He gives patience and encouragement. As a caregiver this is good to know, because if I feel that I am lacking in persevering or encouragement I know I can go to Him and ask Him to help me make it another day...and He will.
 

As I was meditating on this particular scripture I stopped on the phrase the God who gives and did a quick search. What I found was pretty amazing. He really gives us a lot! Here's a list of some of the scriptures that I found by searching the God who gives - these are only the NASB version too - if you run other versions through Bible Gateway's search you'll find a lot more!

I found that God gives:

  • songs in the night (Job 35:10)
  • grace and glory (Psalm 84:11)
  • breath and spirit (Isaiah 42:5)
  • rain in its season (Jeremiah 5:24)
  • the Spirit without measure (John 3:34)
  • the victory (1 Corinthians 15:57)
  • His Holy Spirit (1 Thessalonians 4:8)
  • life (I Timothy 6:13)
  • wisdom (James 1:5)
That's a pretty good list of the things God just gives away, don't you think? As caregivers our needs can be on many levels emotional, spiritual, physical, in relationships, financial, etc. He knows we are flesh and blood and He knows we can be needy. Notice there are no things listed here - houses, cars, lands. It's all stuff to help us carry on while we are still traveling this side of eternity. It's like He is going to make sure that we are equipped to make it through this life to eternity. All of these are needed now - wisdom, life, rain (spirit and soul!), Holy Spirit, grace, songs in the night and encouragement - which is where we started! What do you need to make it today? He has it - and He gives it.

Today I will meditate on how He gives to us freely. I will think about how encouraging it is to know that He has already provided the things I need to make it through one more day. Today I'll meditate on all these things that He gives and I will be thankful for His provision of peace and encouragement. Will you join me?


Me, Myself and I

Sometimes it is really difficult to think outside of our box. Well, think about it a little bit. We are pretty much at home all (or at least most) of the time. Social interaction can be almost nonexistent as when we do get out it is only to run necessary errands. We listen to sermons who encourage us to reach out to others and most times we are the ones who need a helping hand!

James doesn't help any as he says in the first chapter pure religion and undefiled before God is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress and keep oneself unspotted by the world. How are we ever going to measure up when we cannot get out of our space? It's time to be creative!

It will totally change our perspective to see our selves as givers rather than takers. One thing that is simple and inexpensive is to call someone else who you know to be shut-in or in the hospital. It doesn't take but a minute - but you know how much one cheerful phone call can change your day!

Sending cards is another inexpensive way to get out of our own little world. They can just be a "praying for you" or "thought of you today" type card. Blank cards are only a couple of bucks for about 10 of them and stamps are still less than 50 cents. You can make someone else's day by just dropping them a note to say you prayed for them today!

The church gets stuck in a rut sometimes, but we as caregivers do not have to. We can follow the great commission from our homes. We can continue to reach out even when we feel we need to be the one reached out to! It's too easy to get self absorbed into our personal situations. Lighten up your day and that of someone else by being creative and reaching out to someone else today! (maybe if we share some ideas we can come up with a list of creative things we can do together!)

The Stare

  Do you ever just find yourself sitting and staring at the wall? It doesn't really happen too often because, quite frankly, who has tim...