Going with the Flow
My husband had often claimed he is a “go with the flow type of guy”. Until one day a customer politely informed him “Only dead fish go with the flow” “You have to work for it!”
Although this may seem as a silly analogy, but I realized that prior, my relationship with God was also “Go with the flow.” Sundays, I went to church if I didn’t have to work. And I occasionally spent time in the word and prayer, if I had a minute to spare. Minimal to no spiritual life in it.
What I did “worked for” was making sure my family was well fed, well dressed on all occasion, and constantly entertained. I was solely committed to the physical welfare and provision of my family.
As we’ve been studying the book of Ruth with the children this week, a certain phrase caught my attention. If you don’t already know this story, I want to highlight a few key events prior.
1. Naomi, her husband, and two sons were of the children of Israel.
Upon her return to Israel Naomi made this claim …
… Call me not Naomi, call me Mara: for the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me. I went out full, and the LORD hath brought me home again empty: (Ruth 1:20 KJV)
The statement that caught my attention was that she admits that she went out full, yet came back empty. Now we have just identified that there was a famine that had caused them to leave. So, we can definitely conclude that it was not a physical or materialistic full that she was referring to. They were lacking physical provision and therefore had left for that reason. Yet while in pursuit of physical provision, her and her family had suffered spiritual loss.
With further study, I have discovered that the word “Bethlehem” actually means house of bread. I’m convinced it resembles spiritual bread. Many decades later Jesus (the bread of life) was of Bethlehem.
While her family remained in Bethlehem, they were spiritually full, although physically they were lacking for a time (due to famine). Yet when they made their physical and materialistic provisions a priority and left, in result they became spiritually empty.
Jesus had once made a profound statement:
“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money. Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?
(Matt. 6:23-24 NIV)
Sadly, we can’t pursue both spiritual and physical provisions at once. One or the other will always dominate and out-crowd the other. We will either be predominantly occupied with our spiritual welfare or with our physical welfare.
When Jesus came to preach the Kingdom of God, he promised the best of both worlds. Search my Kingdom (spiritual provision) first, and I will make sure you will not lack physically.
But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you. (Luke12:31 KJV)
Make your relationship with God your daily pursuit and allow him to add and work everything else out for you.
In other words, “work for” the Kingdom, and allow everything else to “Go with the flow”.
Supporting text
Look at the birds of the air: They do not sow or reap or gather into barns—and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?... And why do you worry about clothing? Consider carefully how the lilies of the field grow: They do not labor nor do they spin. (Matt. 6:24-29)
I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread. (Ps. 37:25 NIV)
…He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty (Luke 1:53)
Comments
Post a Comment