I was having coffee with a friend yesterday and he was telling me how much God had blessed him in his business in the last several years, and now he is experience (like many others!) a substantial decrease in income. Though he didn’t actually say it, the implication was that he was not presently experiencing God’s blessings.
And almost immediately, the thought came to me: God is still blessing him, but in a different way. How is God blessing him? By depriving him. Wow! You say to me, ‘Greg, you actually believe deprivation is a blessing?’ And my answer is a resounding “yes!” Isn’t that what God did in the wilderness? He deprived Israel of leeks and onions so they would learn that His Presence was more to be treasured than even food and water. The blessing is this: God uses deprivations to free us from dependency (which can become idolatry!) on “things.” Those who have no longing for God Himself become preoccupied with things.
As long as we still desire things, we cannot be satisfied with just God!
Through many deprivations, God blesses us! God changes our inner being that we might truly come to have a hunger for God for Himself.
"...besides Thee, I desire nothing on earth. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever..." (Psalm 73:25-26)
You reminded me of the chapter you showed me out of The Pursuit of God called "The Blessedness of Possessing Nothing". When no material possession or person can own us, we are truly free to enjoy life and the things we have, but not only that, free to be owned by the Lord.
ReplyDeleteI used to start my mornings praying in the shower giving the Lord my hands, my feet, my mouth, my eyes and so on, even my money sex and power, and all I had and am. When I first started I was hesitant because I wasn't sure that all my needs and desires would be met if I gave them all to God. But I learned that He is the only One I can trust with all of me, and is the most fulfilling person in life! He takes care of me in little, and in much, in easy and difficult times. I thank God for the hard times. I experience Him the most when I have nothing and no one...
Well said! And I know this is very real to you!
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