Built on God

Proverbs 24:27, "[Put first things first.] Prepare your work outside and get it ready for yourself in the field; and afterward build your house and establish a home." (Amplified)

These past few years have been hard for everyone. We have all had to reevaluate our financial situations. Last year was the hardest for us. While we are still very cautious with how we are spending our money, we feel like we can at least breath. But in these hard times, we have discovered what is most important and that is true reliance on God. My husband is in real estate. The crisis that many of our friends, who are in construction are feeling now, we felt last year. We went for two years without selling a piece of land. Now that the builders are finished with their building projects from two years ago, they are feeling the sting that we felt, in land not being sold for development. I feel, I hope, I pray that we are on the up side of this crisis. While this time was filled with uncertainties and insecurities, we discovered how good God really is.

Proverbs 11:2, "Pride leads to disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom." It is very hard to admit you are struggling and need help. Jason now wears 5 different working hats. During this time God gave him many different opportunities to make money. He started thinking out of the box. Just when we were feeling the pressure of loosing everything, and playing with the idea of having to move in with my parents, God's grace came in and was sufficient, even for the bank. It wasn't just Jason who had to get out and work, I too had to get out and substitute teach. My grocery budget was cut, what seemed to me, to nothing. We were stripped to the bare necessities, but we feel more confident, content, and secure now, than we ever have. The obvious thing is that we do not have everything figured out, and we cannot control our tomorrow, but our reliance upon God is the key to our security. We have learned many lessons during this time; How we can budget our money better; How to work as a team in working; How to admit to others that we need help; How when we feel we have to have it all together, carry all the burden our self, we take it out on each other; Most importantly, how God is the true provider of our home.

Two and a half years ago, we were making plans to build a very large home. Today we are more than content to enjoy what God has already given us. Today we know that God is providing for us, out of our box. Today we know, that if the bottom fell through, we would still be provided for. This past month, land started to move. People are looking and buying. Everyone has been hit, but life is coming back slowly. When you feel you are on the bottom, trust in your God. He will provide. It may just be out of your box.

Oswald Chambers, "Whenever God gives a vision to a Christian, it is as if He puts him in "the shadow of His hand" (Isaiah 49:2). The saint’s duty is to be still and listen. There is a "darkness" that comes from too much light-that is the time to listen...When God gives you a vision and darkness follows, wait. God will bring the vision He has given you to reality in your life if you will wait on His timing. Never try to help God fulfill His word. Abram went through thirteen years of silence, but in those years all of his self-sufficiency was destroyed. He grew past the point of relying on his own common sense. Those years of silence were a time of discipline, not a period of God’s displeasure. There is never any need to pretend that your life is filled with joy and confidence; just wait upon God and be grounded in Him (see Isaiah 50:10-11 ). Do I trust at all in the flesh? Or have I learned to go beyond all confidence in myself and other people of God? Do I trust in books and prayers or other joys in my life? Or have I placed my confidence in God Himself, not in His blessings? "I am Almighty God . . ."— El-Shaddai, the All-Powerful God (Genesis 17:1). The reason we are all being disciplined is that we will know God is real. As soon as God becomes real to us, people pale by comparison, becoming shadows of reality. Nothing that other saints do or say can ever upset the one who is built on God."

http://www.rbc.org/devotionals/my-utmost-for-his-highest/01/19/devotion.aspx?year=2010