Love to hear from and know who is listening
If you watch any news at all you can quickly become depressed. There is almost never any good news. Stories that make the headlines include mass shootings, children being abused, peoples homes burning and wars between nations where innocent civilians are shot and homes are destroyed. Even here in our small rural community, life can be hard! Most of us start out life with high hopes. Young couples get married and think all they need to survive is love, then life begins to get hard. Children are brought into the relationship and sometimes they get sick and the hospital bills pile up. At times your dream jobs don't work out and you become unemployed and despite what you thought when you and your spouse were newlyweds, love doesn't pay the bills, life is hard!
Exodus 1:12-14 NIV But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread. So the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites and worked them ruthlessly. They made their lives bitter with harsh labor in brick and mortar and with all kinds of work in the fields; in all their harsh labor the Egyptians worked them ruthlessly.
Do you think you have employment problems, you don't' like your boss, you are overworked and underpaid. Imagine if you were one of the Israelites working from early in the morning until late at night and they were slaves, owning nothing, barely surviving. As Christians the way we react to adversity may be the only bible many people ever read. The way you react depends on what you are filling your cup with. If you are filling your cup with the hate, violence and corruption you see in the news, when you face a difficulty your cup will be filled with the same and it will spill out of you all these terrible things. If your unsure what your filling your cup with take a quick inventory of your habits. What do you start your day with, the local news on TV or a Christian devotional or maybe a bible reading? What do you do the moment you get home from work? What is the first thing you pick up when you get home, your TV remote or your bible? How many hours do you spend each week in your church versus watching TV or movies at home? I will be the first to tell you that when I add up the time I spend in devotionals, studying my bible and worshiping God, versus the time I spend in front of my TV, my cup is frequently getting filled with things that don't bring much glory to God.
Psalm 23: 5-6 NIV You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
You can be confident that no matter how challenging, dark or difficult the situation you face, God will always be with you and will never forsake you. God also promises us that his provision and protection will watch over you as well. God prepares a table for his sheep. Even “in the presence of my enemies” lets us know that the table is not just for anyone, but specifically for those who are in relationship with Him. Even in the midst of trouble, dark times and yes even your enemies, God will give you a table of provision and protection. It doesn’t matter what is going on around you. Not only is God sending his presence, provision and protection, he is also providing you with power. Power to endure. Power to lead. Power to make wise decisions. God will fill your cup to over flowing! God has put his Holy Spirit in you so you can become what he wants you to be. God’s blessing on us is designed to spilled over so it can bless others. God’s blessings are not given to us so that you can hoard it and keep it to ourselves. He provides, He fills us and the overflow of his
