Tuesday, October 3, 2017 God’s Heart of Balanced Provision: The Discipline of Simplicity, Part 3 (Inspired by Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster)

Tuesday, October 3, 2017

God’s Heart of Balanced Provision: The Discipline of Simplicity, Part 3 (Inspired by Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster)

Scripture:

Deuteronomy 8:7-19

⁷ For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land—a land with brooks, streams, and deep springs gushing out into the valleys and hills;⁸ a land with wheat and barley, vines and fig trees, pomegranates, olive oil and honey; ⁹ a land where bread will not be scarce and you will lack nothing; a land where the rocks are iron and you can dig copper out of the hills.

¹⁰ When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the Lord your God for the good land he has given you. ¹¹ Be careful that you do not forget the Lord your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day. ¹² Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, ¹³ and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, ¹⁴ then your heart will become proud and you will forget the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. ¹⁵ He led you through the vast and dreadful wilderness,that thirsty and waterless land, with its venomous snakes and scorpions. He brought you water out of hard rock. ¹⁶ He gave you manna to eat in the wilderness, something your ancestors had never known, to humble and test you so that in the end it might go well with you. ¹⁷ You may say to yourself, “My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.” ¹⁸ But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your ancestors, as it is today.

Excerpt from Celebration of Discipline:

The Spiritual Discipline of simplicity provides the needed perspective. Simplicity sets us free to receive the provision of God as a gift that is not ours to keep and can be freely shared with others. Once we recognize that the Bible denounces the materialist and the ascetic with equal vigor, we are prepared to turn our attention to the framing of a Christian understanding of simplicity.

Devotional:

If you are like many Christians today, you have been in part influenced by or perhaps a bit scarred by the prosperity gospel preached in force for several years in the recent past. I am one such who reentered the Christian life again when this was strongly taught, and was fairly confused by the imbalance. I am not one who desires to speak against any minister. It is not mine to call others to task. It is, however, very important that we take a very close look at what the Word does and does not have to say about God’s provision. The above passage of Scripture reminds us both that God has a great desire to provide abundantly and beautifully for His children, and also that He desires that we remain fully dependent on Him for that provision. There is still no place for greed or covetousness. However, the imbalance of “asceticism,” the practice of fully denying or rejecting material goods, is also counter to the heart of God. God put us as believers on a narrow path, friends, a safe and boundaried road toward His heart. Pastor Andy Stanley refers to this path as having “guardrails.” This is such a perfect word picture for how to approach God’s heart toward provision. We should remember to stay right in the middle of God’s will, and not believe that He has some masochistic desire to keep us on the edge of starvation; nor should we believe that He is going to gush blessings out on us for the sake of seating us in the state of luxury that precludes our need to work and produce on the earth. This is a selfish aim, whereas being blessed to bless is a place of giving that mirrors God’s heart and desire for His world. Work is also a blessing, and finding that place of work that energizes us to bless others is also a beautiful thing! Taking this attitude of being a blessing even in work that isn’t our favorite changes our hearts as well. I haven’t always done this perfectly, but for years I worked in service situations. It was only after I found the Lord that I came to realize what a ministry it is to touch the lives of others and leave them feeling overwhelmed with kindness, blessing and love. To take a menial task and use it to bless others was a joy when my heart was open to God, and He richly blessed me in return with the ability to provide well for myself as I performed these menial tasks.

Living simply is not living deprived or impoverished. God desires to care for and provide for you, and bring you into a land that flows with milk and honey so that you would not need to beg. This is a beautiful thing. If you are, like I was for so many years, struggling every day to make ends meet or overwhelmed with financial responsibilities, God has not forgotten you. He sees you and desires to provide for you and care for you.  I am praying now for you:

Prayer:

Thanksgiving:

God, You are awesome and holy. Thank You for this time in Your Word and learning about You. I bless You, Lord, and thank You for ministering to my heart.

Confession:

Lord, I lift my heart to You and confess my sin and struggles. (Mine today: I am struggling with discouragement. I desire to trust You, Lord, but I am having a hard time not grumbling about some circumstances I can’t seem to control in my physical health. I ask You to forgive me for trying to work these problems out without giving them to You.)

Prayer for those suffering in lack:

Father, I ask that You will touch every life that is reading this post that struggles to make ends meet. I pray that You will break any bondage from the enemy that is holding them down. Heal any place of woundedness and replace any lies that the enemy is telling them that keeps them from your blessing. I pray that You will rebuke the devourer for their sake and open the windows of heaven for them (Malachi 3:10-11).

Supplication:

Lord, I ask that You will also remove any lies of the enemy that I retain that keep me from believing You want to bless me for success. I ask that You will show me what simplicity is and remove any confusion about Your desire for me and my family.

Intercession:

God, I pray that my children will always have the balance You desire for them to have in the area of material needs. Let money and possessions be viewed as a tool and a way to bless others rather than a way to live selfishly. (Journal needs and concerns, joys and victories. Chloe: She just turned four years old! She is a wonderful daughter.  I am so proud of her and amazed by her heart. Thank You for the gift she is to me! I pray that she will remain in love with You. I ask that You will continue to minister to her heart to be kind and gentle. Christian: He is making so much progress in communication! He has a new sentence: “Ah wah ceweoh (I want cereal).” He can almost always tell me “Ah-Pah” (iPad) too! Wow. Thank You, Father. Please, Lord, I worry so much about toilet training and speech. Break through in these areas. Forgive me for holding on to him. I give Him to You.)

Thanksgiving and Consecration:

Lord, I lift You today and thank You for all You are doing in our family! I worship You and lift You up. You are holy and beautiful, and I love You! In Jesus’ Name I pray, amen.