By Peter Pollock
I say I have faith that God will provide, but only when it’s easy.
Somehow, Ginny has managed to pick the topics which are by far the most personal and hardest for me to write on
The text that Ginny suggested I use is 2 Corinthians 9:8:
"And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work."
Now, to me, that verse has always spoken about material needs. God will give us all the money and all the materials we need to do whatever it is he calls us to do.
That’s AWESOME – and I totally believe it, with all my heart.
Ginny pointing me to this verse though and suggesting that I write about us saying “I'm not able” and God replying “I AM able” has made me see this verse in a new light.
If God is able to bless us abundantly in all things… then he must be able to bless us abundantly in ALL things, not just material things.
In other words, God is saying I can give YOU the tools YOU need physically, emotionally and mentally to do what I’ve called you to do.
WHOA!
There’s a part of me that can believe that but at the same time, it’s so much harder to trust God for.
Trusting God to provide finances is easy… but trusting God to give ME the ability to do the job and do it well…. That’s a whole different ball game.
If I’m trusting God to provide material things and he doesn’t come through then it’s all on him. No fault of mine, God just didn’t provide.
If I’m trusting him to give me the ability though and he doesn’t come through then it’s on me. I’m the one who failed because I acted like I could do something but it turned out I couldn’t.
I guess that’s part of trust though, isn’t it?
Am I really trusting God if I’m angling things so I don’t look bad if he doesn’t do what I’m trusting him to do?
Is it really stepping out in faith if I make sure I’m protected no matter what happens?
No.
Not at all.
I say I have faith that God will provide, but only when it’s easy. Really acting on that faith is a whole different story –and it’s one we all need to learn to dive into.
I’d love to be able to share some story of how my faith has been tested and God has shown that he is able to work through me even in my weakness and inability but I’m not sure I’ve ever taken a step of faith that big…
Maybe it’s time I did.
How about you?
I want to leave you with these verses from Ephesians 3:20-21:
"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen."
To him who is able to do immeasurably more than we imagine….
How much can YOU imagine?
Peter is a fellow blogger who is a husband, stay-at-home dad, aspiring author, website host and web designer who tries to make God the center of everything he does. He's walking out his salvation and learning and struggling just like the rest of us!