Unsustainable

In news commentaries I keep hearing the word “unsustainable,” meaning out of control. The national debt is unsustainable. So is the California budget. Greece is the first European nation considering bankruptcy—its debt unsustainable. Real estate values are not predicted to return to the 'highs' of 2008 until 2020. Many home-owners are “upside-down,” foreclosures inevitable, their payments unsustainable.

But let’s make this a bit more personal. Perhaps many of you are feeling like your circumstances are out of your control—the things that used to sustain you no longer do. Don’t be surprised; this is part of God’s method for preparing you for kingdom work! Before the Hebrews could go in and possess the Promised Land, God led them into the Wilderness where their faith was tested. How? by removing all the things that had sustained them in Egypt—the familiar things that comforted them and gave them a sense of control.

Too many Christians today are trying to lay claim to God’s promises, while unwilling to let go of the “old” things that sustained them—they want to keep a foot in both worlds. If we are honest, we all want to retain some self-reliance, our independence—as a fall-back position. But if we are unresponsive, the wilderness will be prolonged. When you stop trying to sustain yourself, you will discover the Christ who sustains you, the One Who holds all things together (Col. 1:17).