Better with a Little...

Most of us are familiar with the old saying, "Money can't buy happiness!"....however, for most of my younger days, I must admit trying to find out for myself if this was really true? For the longest time, I chased after the things that money could buy....nice clothes, big car, large home and a really good set of golf clubs. It wasn't until my daughter battled cancer at age 5 ( I was 47 at that time) that I realized as a dad with no job, no insurance and no means to take care of the mounting hospital bills that I needed to search the Scriptures for a verse that could help me make sense of my desperate situation.

I found it in Proverbs 15:16, "Better a little with the fear of the Lord than great treasure with turmoil."

At that time, I took it to mean that I needed to let go of my desire for money to pay bills and provide for my family; rather, I should just let go and let God do what only He could do....heal our daughter and take care of my family. My desire to have "earthly treasure" was a thought of the past as I began to focus on what lay ahead for my wife, daughter and myself. The road to being "comfortable" again led me to surrender my finances to God and to learn to trust Him for my needs to be met out of His abundant grace.

So, as I set in my home office this morning, after having read this verse again in my daily devotion, I thought about the many years that have since past and the wonderful life my wife and I have built these past twenty plus years...and the great joy that our daughter has brought to us over that time.  As I listened to the howling winds of Hurricane Michael as he roared past my office window, I thought of all the devastation that had been left behind in the panhandle of Florida and inland as Michael continued his march through Georgia, the Carolinas and then Virginia, before heading back out to sea....and one clear picture kept coming to mind...WHAT WOULD I DO IF ALL THAT I HAD WAS WIPED OUT AND ALL THAT REMAINED WERE THE CLOTHES ON MY BACK?

I believe I would do what I learned to do back when we were told our only child had cancer...I WOULD TRUST THE LORD and wait on Him to show me what to do, where to turn and how to move beyond this loss. That is the true measure of our willingness to believe that God REALLY loves us and cares for us and will never forsake us. When we can count all of our worldly things as lost and still believe the God is in control and He has a plan for our future that only He knows....then we can come to be content with little rather than set ourselves up to enjoy riches that come with the troubles of this world.

Now, don't get me wrong; I hurt deeply for all those who find themselves beaten down by Hurricanes Florence and Michael; who have lost all the many "blessings" they have enjoyed from the labor of their hands and now find that floods or winds or surge or something else has left them homeless and without the bare essentials of life...BUT OUR GOD IS BIGGER THAN ANY HURRICANE OR THE TRAGEDIES LEFT IN ITS WAKE...and it is He and He alone that can bring prosperity in spite of the problem...can give comfort amidst the chaos...invoke delight and determination in the center of devastation... and most of all, bring hope in the midst of heartache!

So if you, or someone you love, are suffering because all the "treasure" you once had has been suddenly taken away; think on today's Scripture and begin to rebuild your life with this simple thought....

A LITTLE with God at your side is far BETTER that untold treasure...especially with Satan constantly nipping at your heels, 

just waiting to devour you and all your things once more.

Giving God the Glory....Being Blessed with the Little,

WPQ

Poem for the day....

Life can make us weary

As we struggle from day to day;

Leaving us sad and beaten down

When things don't go our way.

Yes, we can be stopped, dead in our tracks

To lament the shape were in;

Or we can trust the One above

And allow His work within.

For our heart and soul needs the Father's touch

If from the heap of broken dreams we rise...

For once again we've been humbled by

The darkening of our skies.

So take to heart the Father's words

As He sweetly whispers in your ear....

Fear not, my child, what this world will bring?"

For I am ALWAYS near!!!

WPQ©October 2018