Quote: Originally posted by percygrinder on June 30, 2004
I understand what you saying vision man, but the reality is there are some people who find themselves in situations where not even your own family can't help you. The truth about life is aint no one ga give you anything, you have some people even in the church who will know you aren't working and need help and would never stretch there hands to help you.
i totally understand where you are coming from because i have not only been there, i am ...there.
i lived in GA for 7 years and for 6 1/2 of those years i and my wife struggled financially because of my health problems (i have had life changing health problems that started 13 years ago). i cannot count how many times we have been right at the edge of living out in the street. my church knew about it and helped us twice, only because i swallowed my pride and and asked and then only out of obligation. after the 2nd time they told me that they couldn't help us anymore. pretty sad considering that it was a congregation that was predominately wealthy people numbering over 2,000 in membership. alot of people in the congregation knew and did squat. same with family members (except for a here/there to appease their conscience). as a rule, i don't ask ...as God will fill my needs. if i relied on people or "things", i would have been homeless and/or dead by now (lol). but i mean to tell you that rather than it being an ugly situation, it has been a tremendous journey watching God be real and taking care of me. thank God he has because only THEN would i be able to offer you real hope instead of "psychology". you see that it was Gods intention all along for me to struggle so that i would learn to rely on him, and then so that i could offer real hopev to people that were "watching" my life. there is purpose in my life that goes waaaaaaay beyond just me...
many many times i had no idea where we would get the money to pay bills and/or eat. for 13 years (6 1/2 in GA), we lived paycheck to paycheck rarely have anything left over to do "fun stuff". day after day, year after year.
but without fail God had always provided for us. maybe it seemed "late" by my "timeclock", but it always came some how someway. i was out of work and my wife worked a full time job and a part time job just to keep our head above water.
now my wife would freak out every once in a while (and who could blame her for having to carry that "load"), but i never acted desperate then and i am not going to act desperate in the future. i will always chose to do things that i know that honor God and he will provide. if i do my part, he will surely do his. if i spend so much time and effort worrying about my needs or perceived lack thereof, i will become one miserable fool. if however i concentrate on God and stick hard and fast to what i know his will to be for my life, i will have tremendous peace (like i do know).
sometimes you cannot change your external circumstances as there are things that God orchaestrates for his purpose. your "peace" can and will come as you adjust to that knowledge and you trust him for everything beyond your next breath. you are the master of your own emotions and you can choose to live a victorious life no matter if the world is caving in around you ..... or you can choose to not trust God, not do his will as you understand it to be and then live in a world filled with hopelessness, doubt and fear. i still currently have every reason to live in fear as my current circumstances are harder than ever, but i refuse to cave in to doubt because i intend on trusting in God and drawing on his faithfulness.
how can anyone even intellectually and honestly say that if there is a God, that i/we/you know a better course of action to take than what he has planned? how can i/we/you tell the "designer" that his "design" is not good enough? maybe you don't like certain "parts" about your life but there is still not a good enough reason to circumvent God and do it "yourself" based on the above ideaology.
i know where my bread gets "buttered". i have a longstanding relationship with God and i have seen too much thru experience to ever turn to anyone but him. he has promised to supply all my "NEEDS", and he has never failed me yet. i can only choose for myself and my choice will ALWAYS be to trust him, and to turn to him first.
i will never turn to anything out of desperation as that will only erode away the many years of trust that i have built up with "him".
fear is not part of my vocabulary unless it is used in the vein of "respect". i do not fear God because i KNOW HIM. but i have great reverencial "respect".
and you ????
"come to me all you who are heavy laden, and i (God) will give you................REST" (Jesus in the new testament)
( i must reiterate something......i only play the lottery (1 quick pick) because i happen to know that it is part of Gods plan for my life (in his time). i would not buy a single ticket if i did not know that. there is no other "parts" of my life that i gamble and i am not playing the lottery to get out of my longstanding "circumstances")
theveryfactthatihavevisionmeansthatiwillneveragainbeafraid