It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for He gives to His beloved sleep. (Verse 2)
The blessing of the Lord makes rich and He adds no sorrow to it. Proverbs 10:22
Do not toil to acquire wealth. Be discerning enough to desist. When your eyes light upon it, it is gone, for suddenly it sprouts wings, flying like an eagle toward heaven. Proverbs 23: 4-5
I am a realtor at this time in my life. That means most of the time I work "for free." Countless hours that most clients take for granted are spent finding properties, showing properties, making appointments, learning the inventory, holding open houses, in hope. I've worked with people for two years who then never bought from me. In fact, some purchased from someone else. The other day, one of my kids exclaimed, "You did all that for nothing?" Nowhere in my life is it more obvious that God is my Source than in what I am about vocationally right now. It's sales. And it can be stressful.
But there is a time to say, "Enough is enough." To sit with my family or take a walk with my God and rest from the need to make it all happen. My clients aren't my source of income. My God is. And my God shall supply all my needs through His riches in glory in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:19). If my life is taken up in the stress of making money, I have worried through the best part of it. Money and things are fleeting, at best. I know we need it to exist, but when it is the paramount thing we live for, it's an idol. And God won't compete with an idol.
Money has been on my mind lately. I'd sure like to make more. To give more. Lots of things on my plate right now for which I need the blessing of the Lord. In fact, I had a dream last night. I was walking along a path with one of my co-workers when I stumbled upon a clump of grass. When I looked down at it, I saw a fifty dollar bill folded and lying in the brown grass at my feet. When I stooped to pick it up, I noticed there were other bills beneath it. Four hundred dollars worth! My co-worker told me it must be a bonus! So, I kept it. And my first thought was, I could help my son buy the watch Bill wanted for Father's Day. When I awoke, I couldn't shake the dream or the disappointment that I'd not really found the extra money. I must be subconsciously a little worried. Thus this psalm, huh?
God's provision for us comes from His desire to give us what we need. He's our Father. He wants to take care of us. When we take on the responsibility that is His, we worry. Don't sleep. Toil until all hours of the night. Don't know when to desist! But our Father isn't concerned about giving us everything our eyes light upon. More stuff. He's concerned about giving us what we need. And if we are so anxious about getting that we will step on someone else's supply, taking what we want and putting someone else in need, we have gained "sorrowful" money. I don't want to take what someone isn't willing to give. I'd rather trust Jesus to allow the flow of provision to be without my grasping. So there's joy in it.
I am thankful this morning that I have no real basic needs. I'm writing this Psalm Calm while I sit at my dining room table as hummingbirds flit from tree to tree outside on the patio of my house which is a five minute walk to the beach. So, I have no complaints. And when I think of my brothers and sisters all over the world facing persecution and death because they are Christians, my perspective changes from my need to theirs. We are living in a tenuous world upon which our feet should tread lightly. And while we sojourn, our riches must be counted not so much in the things our eyes never get enough of, but on the face of Jesus, Who counted everything as loss to gain our lives eternally.
From of old no one has heard or perceived by the ear, no eye has seen a God besides You, Who acts for those who wait for Him. Isaiah 64
The blessing of the Lord makes rich and He adds no sorrow to it. Proverbs 10:22
Do not toil to acquire wealth. Be discerning enough to desist. When your eyes light upon it, it is gone, for suddenly it sprouts wings, flying like an eagle toward heaven. Proverbs 23: 4-5
I am a realtor at this time in my life. That means most of the time I work "for free." Countless hours that most clients take for granted are spent finding properties, showing properties, making appointments, learning the inventory, holding open houses, in hope. I've worked with people for two years who then never bought from me. In fact, some purchased from someone else. The other day, one of my kids exclaimed, "You did all that for nothing?" Nowhere in my life is it more obvious that God is my Source than in what I am about vocationally right now. It's sales. And it can be stressful.
But there is a time to say, "Enough is enough." To sit with my family or take a walk with my God and rest from the need to make it all happen. My clients aren't my source of income. My God is. And my God shall supply all my needs through His riches in glory in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:19). If my life is taken up in the stress of making money, I have worried through the best part of it. Money and things are fleeting, at best. I know we need it to exist, but when it is the paramount thing we live for, it's an idol. And God won't compete with an idol.
Money has been on my mind lately. I'd sure like to make more. To give more. Lots of things on my plate right now for which I need the blessing of the Lord. In fact, I had a dream last night. I was walking along a path with one of my co-workers when I stumbled upon a clump of grass. When I looked down at it, I saw a fifty dollar bill folded and lying in the brown grass at my feet. When I stooped to pick it up, I noticed there were other bills beneath it. Four hundred dollars worth! My co-worker told me it must be a bonus! So, I kept it. And my first thought was, I could help my son buy the watch Bill wanted for Father's Day. When I awoke, I couldn't shake the dream or the disappointment that I'd not really found the extra money. I must be subconsciously a little worried. Thus this psalm, huh?
God's provision for us comes from His desire to give us what we need. He's our Father. He wants to take care of us. When we take on the responsibility that is His, we worry. Don't sleep. Toil until all hours of the night. Don't know when to desist! But our Father isn't concerned about giving us everything our eyes light upon. More stuff. He's concerned about giving us what we need. And if we are so anxious about getting that we will step on someone else's supply, taking what we want and putting someone else in need, we have gained "sorrowful" money. I don't want to take what someone isn't willing to give. I'd rather trust Jesus to allow the flow of provision to be without my grasping. So there's joy in it.
I am thankful this morning that I have no real basic needs. I'm writing this Psalm Calm while I sit at my dining room table as hummingbirds flit from tree to tree outside on the patio of my house which is a five minute walk to the beach. So, I have no complaints. And when I think of my brothers and sisters all over the world facing persecution and death because they are Christians, my perspective changes from my need to theirs. We are living in a tenuous world upon which our feet should tread lightly. And while we sojourn, our riches must be counted not so much in the things our eyes never get enough of, but on the face of Jesus, Who counted everything as loss to gain our lives eternally.
From of old no one has heard or perceived by the ear, no eye has seen a God besides You, Who acts for those who wait for Him. Isaiah 64
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