God Says... "I will supply all your needs."

By Kely Braswell (Dangerous Breeze)

You say… "I can’t manage."

God says… "I will supply all your needs."

Well, excuse me if I – just for a minute – work out my salvation with fear and trembling. And a little kicking against the goads. A small rant, and a vent on the side.

Just gonna go a little “David complaining in the Psalms” on y’all for a minute.

God, it DON’T ALWAYS FEEL like you’re providin’!

We’re a family of 8, and we’re always right on the edge of, “Uh-uh, these bills aren’t gonna get paid this month!”

“How are we ever gonna finish paying these medical bills off?”

“God, we need tires! And the van leaks oil like we struck a gusher! We need a new dishwasher! There are ants all over our kitchen!

“The upstairs faucet leaks! How will we ever paint our house? It needs it, Ya know! And what about our old, grimy carpet?”

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God Says... "I have given everyone a measure of faith."

By Jason S (Connecting to Impact)

"And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him." (Hebrews 11:6)

According to this scripture, I'm two for two. I believe He is and that He rewards those who seek Him. That means I'm pleasing to God. That means I have faith. If you're a believer, you're probably with me.

Honestly though, it seems like many times this can't possibly be enough or more accurately, that the little faith we have can't possibly meet the huge challenges we face.

I can find myself saying, "I don't have enough faith." But the Father sees something different, something we don't see. He gave us each a measure of faith (Romans 12:3) and as we exercise it, that faith grows.

Years ago, I faced a decision for me and my family to leave the job I had been working and work full-time for our church as an associate pastor. Ours was not a large church and the questions surrounding this seemed so much louder than the direction God was speaking.

I knew where the Father was leading, but I struggled with the idea of my own faith. Could I really do this? Would my family suffer? Would my marriage suffer with this strain? How would all this work?

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God Says...

By Ginny (MAD21)

Awhile back, I was discussing topic ideas with the guys who have been writing for my series on Mondays. We had started organizing one of the ideas but stopped when Jay came across a fabulous article on faith by Donald Borsch, Jr. called, "Sonship: The Reality of Faith." After reading his post and seeing the "God Says" list he included, we decided we wanted to expand on what he shared, by making his list (and a few more we added) the topic for our next series.

We are told in 1 Corinthians 13:1-3 that even if we can do all kinds of amazing things, if we do them without love it means nothing. The lesson here is obvious. But when preparing for this series, I read: "if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing." I wondered... what if you love, but you lack faith? What happens when you've been beaten down by a situation so far, for so long that you really begin to question how strong your faith is?

We have all been there. That place of doubt.

"I'm not good enough."

   "It's impossible."

      "I can't."

         "I'm afraid."

            "I can't resist."

               "I can't forgive."

                  "I want."

                     "I feel all alone."

Many of us put on a good face no matter what we are going through in our lives. I think for the most part we all just "go with the flow" and deal with things as they come along. But there are those times when doubt, or a lack of faith, get the best of us. It can last for a moment, a day, or much, much longer. It's for those times that we must prepare ourselves. We must work hard to build our faith before it's tested, before we face the challenges. If we can build that strong foundation, it won't matter what comes our way. Because with faith comes it's companion: hope.

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