THE GOD WHO CARES
This week, we started a new series entitled “Small but Seen.” Pastor Lawrence reminded us of a familiar truth: “God cares about us!” Much like knowing a loved one cares for you, reminders are still required. God, being infinite, can cause us to feel small in comparison. As federal employees lose jobs, immigration deports people, and stock market volatility changes futures, inciting stress and uncertainty, we must take heart. (1 Peter 5:7) “casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.” Lawrence used the colloquial expression, “Life be Lifing!” tying it to (Job 14:1) “Man who is born of a woman is few of days and full of trouble.” Even the most blessed among us will experience constant troubles throughout their lives.
The primary scripture for his sermon was 2 Kings 4:1-7, Elisha and the Widow’s Oil. When Elisha asked the widow what she had, much like most of us when we’re low and despondent, she responded with a “nothing but” phrase. She had nothing but God and a teacup full of oil. When we’re down to our last dollar, minute, or morsel of food, can we give it to the Lord? Even though the widow had only a tiny portion of oil, Elisha instructed her to borrow the equivalent of empty 55-gallon drums from her neighbors. Lawrence likened this to starving people being told to find 15 hungry people and invite them to eat at their house; it wouldn’t make sense except through faith. After the widow collected the empty vessels, she was instructed to go inside her house with her sons, shut the door, and fill the gathered containers with her tiny cup. She filled every empty basin, enough to pay her debts and live on. Are we prepared for what God is about to do in our lives? Can we remove the world’s distractions, concentrate on our faith, and open ourselves to what God asks? If you’re like me, God’s direction varies in frequency and clarity. At times, I have no doubt I’m walking God’s intended path; other times, I’m much less clear, as if I’m stumbling blindfolded in the direction of a distant, muffled voice that is lovingly recognizable.
(James 2:26) “For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.” We need to be ready and willing to receive what God is pouring into each of us individually. Certain people in your life can’t go in the direction God is leading you. (Matthew 6:34) “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” Give what we have, even when it’s a bucket of troubles and a prayer. Be prepared to receive what God has in store for us if we make yourselves available and receptive. (Romans 8:38-39) “For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”