But He Gives a Greater Grace

In catching up with friends lately I've been burdened that I not just update details but that I pass on the bigger picture of God's hand working in and through us to glorify His name. Since December of last year we've lived in 5 temporary places not counting hotels. All the while living out of a suitcase with no permanent employment going on 8 months now. We've had a pregnancy that we couldn't find health insurance for until I was 4 months along. We've had unexpected bills, 3 months of living in different states than each other which meant loneliness for Mike and the struggles of single parenting for me. And yet in everything God's grace has abounded. We've never missed a meal, always had a roof over our heads, been able to pay every bill as it came and more importantly our hearts and souls have been blessed by a God who knows and cares not only for us but for His own glory and using our lives to bring it about.

Most of this is regurgitation from recent sermons God has placed us in front of.
What is God's grace? The children of Israel have just been saved out of Egypt and have nothing to eat in the wilderness. Exodus 16: 4,5 "Then the Lord said to Moses, "Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a day's portion every day, that I may test them, whether or not they will walk in My instruction. It will come about on the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather daily." God commanded the Israelites to only gather what they needed for THAT day except for the Sabbath. Following this showed faith on the people's part. Faith that they believed the next day the manna would again appear to provide for their needs. On the 6th day a double portion was to be taken as there would be none provided on the Sabbath. Now vs 29, "See, the Lord has given you the Sabbath; therefore He gives you bread for two days on the sixth day. Remain every man in his place; let no one go out of his place on the seventh day." So the people rested on the seventh day. Although the restrictions of the Sabbath are not the same today for the church the concept remains. God is the giver of all things in our lives. He gives the grace that we need for that day and that day only. If He gives us a situation where we need more; then more will be given. God gave the sabbath with it's restrictions; He provided two days of food.

This went on for 40 years. That's a long time! Why? Deut 8:2,3 "You shall remember all the way which the Lord your God has led you in the wilderness these forty years, that He might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. He humbled you and let you be hungry, and fed you with manna which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that He might make you understand that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord."

The Israelites were not left in the wilderness because God dropped the ball or didn't have a plan. Part was punishment, part was to test their hearts and then to teach them that their sustenance does not come from bread (Ex 16:3 what the people were accustomed to in Egypt and complained that they no longer had) but from God's mouth. He speaks and their needs are met. ie: I was accustomed to a paycheck every other week. That was what provided for my needs. I'm learning that God is not bound by direct deposit in providing for us.

I also think it's interesting that God took them into the wilderness to teach this lesson. Wilderness: associated with drought, no distractions, no comfort zones. Hosea talks of this too in the redemption of the harlot wife. Hosea 2:14,15. "Therefore (because she followed her lovers and forgot God) behold, I will allure her, bring her into the wilderness and speak kindly to her. Then I will give her her vineyards from there . . . " God takes this "woman" out of the land flowing with milk and honey and from the wilderness gives her vineyards. Why? Because only God could provide a vineyard in those conditions. A vineyard in the Promised Land doesn't scream His glory.

II Cor 12:9,10, "And He has said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness." Most gladly therefore, I will rather boast about my weakness, so that the power of Christ may richly dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weakness, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ's sake; for when I am weak, the I am strong."

God's grace is sufficient, not over abundant; sufficient. He provides what we need just for the moment or the day. That's why we are commanded not to borrow tomorrow's worries because that grace has not been given yet. That's tomorrow's manna. See Piper for more on that one. We had a job this year that we thought would provide 3 to 4 months of savings. I think the words actually came out of our mouths, "This will be a good buffer in case we don't get more manna, I mean work." After some unexpected bills it ended up that we broke even with no savings. But God provided every penny for every bill. How arrogant our feeble hearts to trust only in the security of a savings account rather than for God to take care of tomorrow. Don't get me wrong, those aren't bad. Our problem was where the trust was placed. "For Christ's sake". This is the benefit in these times. Sulking and worrying doesn't change the circumstance it simply robs us of a chance to be well content and God from receiving glory that is due Him.

James 4:1-10 The idea that we can be adulteresses toward God when we lust after the world and it's friendship rather than submitting to Him. vs 6 He gives grace to the humble. vs 8 He draws near to those to draw near to Him. What a comfort.

I Tim 6:6-12 how much more is gained in our walks when it is accompanied by contentment. (which by the way is a choice, not a feeling). vs 10 notice, having money not an issue. Loving it; longing for it is the issue. Where is your hope lying? In chariots or in the Lord our God.

Can I encourage you today? How is God revealing His glory in your life? Are you sharing it with others so they see His name displayed? Or is it stopping with you?

In case you need a laugh . . .

By an anonymous 2nd Grade school teacher:

I've been teaching now for about 15 years. I have two kids of my own but the best birth story I know is the one I saw in my own second grade classroom a few years back.

When I was a kid, I loved show and tell. So I always have a few sessions with my students. It helps them get over shyness and usually show and tell is pretty tame. Kids bring in pet turtles, model airplanes, pictures of fish they catch, stuff like that. And I never, ever place any boundaries or limitations on them. If they want to lug it to school and talk about it, they're welcome.

Well, one day this little girl, Erica, a very bright, very outgoing kid, takes her turn and waddles up to the front of the class with a pillow stuffed under her sweater. She holds up a snapshot of an infant. "This is Luke, my baby brother, and I'm going to tell you about his birthday. First Mom and Dad made him as a symbol of their love, and then Dad put a seed in my Mom's stomach, and Luke grew in there. He ate for nine months through an umbrella cord." She's standing there with her hands on the pillow, and I'm trying not to laugh and wishing I had my camcorder with me. The kids are watching her in amazement!

"Then, about two Saturdays ago, my Mom starts saying and going, 'Oh, oh, oh, oh!' Erica puts a hand behind her back and groans. "She walked around the house for, like an hour, 'Oh, oh, oh!' (Now this kid is doing a hysterical duck walk and groaning.)

"My Dad called the middle wife. She delivers babies, but she doesn't have a sign on the car like the Domino's man. They got my Mom to lie down in bed like this." (Then Erica lies down with her back against the wall.) "And then, pop! My Mom had this bag of water she kept in there in case he got thirsty, and it just blew up and spilled all over the bed, like psshhheew! (This kid has her legs spread with her little hands miming water flowing away. It was too much!)

"Then the middle wife starts saying, 'push, push' and 'breathe, breathe'. They started counting but never got past ten. Then, all of the sudden, out comes my brother. He was covered in yucky stuff that they all said was from Mom's play center, so there must be a lot of toys inside there. When he got out, the middle wife spanked him for crawling up in there."

Ever since then I always bring my camcorder to show and tell in case another 'middle wife' appears.

One more from Nebraska

I had to get this one added in here. Charlize is a little girl who loves to dance. We went to an out door concert at Southpoint and Charlize loved dancing and waving to every person in sight.

At 22 months now she has just now started to like tv. Bob the Builder is her favorite along with Yogi Bear and The Pink Panther. This month she has started lots of repeating and has started putting two words together. Usually MY juice! As if I'm wanting to steal her goobery sippy cup. We also started very casual potty training. She's shown a lot of interest and tells me everytime afterward. So we got a chair and we'll see how things go. I'm not determined for her to get it down now but willing to let her try while I have extra time to focus with her. She has also done so well adjusting between different houses but is really starting to show when Daddy is away for weeks at a time. We're so happy he's coming to see us in AZ tomorrow for a couple of weeks. Then we'll have one more month apart before "Vernadine" comes and then we should be done, Lord willing.

Thanks to everyone who's been praying through our last few days of trusting God. After a last minute curveball from Little Caesars over finances we were able to get Larry and Linda off to their training class in Detroit this next week. Mike has demo'd and cleaned the store and set up bids for the remodel. Our coming soon sign is up. Mike will start the remodel as soon as our financing is cleared and we are able to order the appliances. We are praying this will be about two weeks from now but thankful that we get to see Mike in between! Honestly this last change has been one of the hardest to trust and be joyful I think because we all felt like we had crossed the tough hurdels already. Just a reminder to us that we are in need of God's blessing everyday and in every step. More on that in the next post. =)