My blessing today...

[Mike Vande]

...is provision. I got word yesterday that I was turned down by the company I had applied for a job at.

That was a surprise.

When I heard it, it took a little while to sink in. I thought I would have a nice smooth transition from my current job to a new one, with little or no downtime between. Instead, I get to wait a while longer to see what happens.

My mind started roiling with thoughts like “When are you gonna learn, man? That would have been just too easy. You know it never works that way for you,” and “Well, you should have known you’d get a kick in the slats with all the stuff you’ve been spouting about hope and encouragement and gratitude. You’ve been talking the talk, now you get to walk the walk, Mr. Spiritual.”

If I have given anyone the impression that I am some sort of hero of the faith, let me disabuse you of that notion right now. As a young Christian, I wanted to be like Solomon, wise and well-off. Instead, I seem much more like Gideon, the least member of the least family in all of Israel. My dad translated that passage from the Greek Septuagint version of the Old Testament as “the biggest coward of the biggest family of cowards in the country”. My exercise of the faith God has given me is far from perfect, and my trust in God is halting, filled fears, and generally laced with shame for my many failures.

It’s an old saying that a coward dies a thousand times, a brave man only once. What I’d say that means is a fearful man becomes absorbed with worrying about what’s going to happen to him, and lives through many more injuries in his imagination than he ever receives in reality.

The prospect of a period of unemployment is a daunting thing to me. I am just starting to get evened-out, physically and emotionally, thanks to the meds I’ve been taking. Without medical insurance, I can’t afford most of them or the doctors that prescribed them, and without a job, I have no medical insurance. My lease is up at the end of this month and they say I’ll have to sign another one or face much higher monthly rates. The only phone I have is through my job, and without the job, I’ll have to start paying more of a monthly charge, so one more bill is added to the stack. I need to pay this bill and that bill, and lower income from lower sales has put me behind on some of them. If I think about it all for too long, it becomes overwhelming.

Peter Marshall once said that worry is atheism. That’s pretty cut-and-dried, but I think it’s true. If you believe God loves you, there is nothing to worry about; everything is going ahead according to plan. If you don’t believe that everything is going ahead according to plan, then you don’t believe in the God the Bible talks about, because it says He has a plan and is working it out.

Someone once said that being a Christian is like having two dogs fighting for control inside you, and the one that wins in the one you feed. If a person can hang onto the belief that God is working on their behalf, they don’t tend to worry, at least not as much as they would otherwise. So all things being equal, Christians don’t need to worry, right?

Unfortunately, we have an enemy. He is called many things, one of which actually is his office or job rather than a name; Satan means the accuser. In bad situations, the accuser does exactly that. He accuses you of sins you may or may not be guilty of. His goal is to undermine faith with doubt, to get people to die every one of those thousand deaths in their minds, and a few more besides, It’s easy to build doubt in imperfect people. After all, no one is completely without sin, so sometimes the accusations are true. We do not, can not, and will never deserve anything from God but eternal separation from Him, not ever.

Thankfully, God is not on a cash-&-carry basis. He says “Come on, whoever wants to, I know your sins, let’s deal with them and move on. The charge for my love and provision was too high for you to pay, so My Son paid it for you. Accept it and it’s yours.”

When I found out about being turned down for the job, I emailed the guy I work part-time for on Saturdays. I got his reply this morning, and he said I was welcome to work full-time for him till I could find something better. It’s a lot less than I was making when sales were good, but it’s better than nothing by a long shot. He desperately needs help for the upcoming holidays, and I already know the job, so it works out well for him, too. I don’t know about the insurance or the medications yet, but I am encouraged enough to not worry about that, at least not yet. And, When you are looking for a job, it’s better to be able to say you have one now than to have to say you don’t.

God is providing for me. I thank Him for that.

Hey, does anybody need a somewhat used cell phone salesman/guitar player? He shows a bit of wear, but his attitude is improving…

[Jennifer Smith]

That is wonderful, that reminds me of a verse: Hebrews 4:14-16
14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are--yet was without sin. 16 Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

[Pastor Gary]

...does anybody need a somewhat used cell phone salesman/guitar player? He shows a bit of wear, but his attitude is improving…

Mike, I can't begin to tell you how much that hurts -- I would love to have you here. Your background in music, worship and video production would be such a huge asset to any church, and your newly-revealed sensitivity would be such a welcome addition to a ministry that cares about hurting people.

May I vent?

It is so frustrating to have such enormous vision and such limited resources. Yes, I know we have access to all of heaven's resources, but some of those resources seem to be more of the long-term investment variety, not the liquid assets variety!

With sufficient funds, so much could be done... )))HUGE SIGH((((

[dalebert]

The prospect of a period of unemployment is a daunting thing to me. I am just starting to get evened-out, physically and emotionally, thanks to the meds I’ve been taking. Without medical insurance, I can’t afford most of them or the doctors that prescribed them, and without a job, I have no medical insurance. My lease is up at the end of this month and they say I’ll have to sign another one or face much higher monthly rates. The only phone I have is through my job, and without the job, I’ll have to start paying more of a monthly charge, so one more bill is added to the stack. I need to pay this bill and that bill, and lower income from lower sales has put me behind on some of them. If I think about it all for too long, it becomes overwhelming.

Mike i have not had a job since last July! And somehow someway, God has always supplied me with money and a place to stay! The church i go to has helped me greatly! I have since gotten my CDL to drive a school bus again! ....not much now but i worship the Lord anyway.....i just know that it will all work out for the best! I will pray blessing over you! I sense that you have a good heart and love for God! We could sure use another gitar player and faithful man of God here at our church!

[rjc]

Mike, I just wanted to let you know that several of the drug companies have programs that will either completely pay for or significantly reduce the cost of your medications in circumstances like yours. Please check with your doctor, he should know how to apply for this assistance. If he can't please pm me and I will get the info for you.

I contnue to keep you in my prayers.