If life has dealt you bad cards it’s not how we handle the cards, it’s about how God turns the cards around in our favor. That way God gets the credit and glory not us. God turned the captivity of Job. Job 42:10
Jesus
manipulated this natural realm by his faith. So did Abraham by believing
for a seed through Sarah when she was past child bearing. We can go
through the whole chapter 11 of Hebrews (rather funny but reminds me of how
this earthly life has Chapter 11 bankruptcy) ---hey why don’t we just
read, study and meditate on Chapter 11 of Hebrews about faith! Verses 1-39
Now
faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.
Hebrews 11:1
Jesus took five
loaves and two small fish and he multiplied those fish and loaves to feed
5,000. Matthew 14:13-21
That was Jesus yesterday,
but it says that “Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever.”
Hebrews 13:8.
It also says
that where two or more are gathered together in His name, He is among them (in
the midst of them). Matthew 18:20
Jesus is in the
midst of us.
I was in a
Christian missionary group for two years and we traveled from city to city in
this tent revival ministry. My friend Diana and I were in his converted
UPS truck that was made into a camper truck and we got separated from the
group. We should have been out of gas at a certain point – the gas gage
was not working and when we went to put gas in it, we could barely put any gas
in as far as it was full. My husband said the same thing happened to him
even when he was not walking and seeking God, he was in this town on Sunday
checking out some engineering sites and he could not find a gas station open
and he drove for miles on an empty tank of gas. My husband told me the
whole 13 years he was on hiatus of God, he felt God’s hand on his life.
It is just like Samson experienced or many miracles we see in the Old
Testament of how God provided beyond the natural world.
I had to go
rescue my husband for running our SUV out of gas one time. I don’t believe
in “snake” handling or tempting God. That is what Satan tried to do with
Jesus-get him to turn stones into bread when he was very hungry. One
strategy of knowing the enemy is that he attacks at our weakest times.
Jesus was coming off a fast and that was his weakest moment.
My husband and I speculated no way on the face of the planet I would have ever met him if I had
not overcome my fear of a stalker to place a single’s ad. I had to get
out of my comfort zone to meet him. I see several times people who got
out of their comfort zones. David left his shepherd field to kill
Goliath, but it was not totally out of his comfort zone, because he was handy
with a sling slot. I was handy with socializing with strangers.
When Elijah came
to the widow woman, it was her last oil and cake that she had – she was
scraping the bottom of the barrel and then her oil and wine never ran
out. It’s the scripture the Lord gave me to get two renters in my house
to help me with my house payment. So I look for God’s promise for a
certain situation in my life to claim that promise.
All of God’s
promises are “Yeah and Amen.” 2 Cor. 1:20
I don’t have to
do anything to earn God’s promises. I am his child and they are there by
faith. Through faith and patience they inherited the
promises. Hebrews 6:12.
I started getting into statistics
back when I typed up research papers for residents at Methodist Hospital for
twin studies. I had a set of twins which there is 1-100 chances of women
having twins without fertility drugs, but my dad’s mother was a twin. I
find statistics are very interesting.
In the movie, “Rain Man” he got in
trouble for “counting cards” in gambling, but law of averages if you play the
slot machine or play your cards right, they are bound to win, it’s knowing when
to count your victories before you get to the losses. But once in a while
life can send you a can of worms, or a bunch of snakes. So is life
always how we play our cards or handle the cards we have? So sometimes
life is a “A
Series of Unfortunate Events.”
Can
of worms: A source of many unpredictable
or unexpected problems: Taking a
job at a company we know nothing about
would be opening up a whole new can of worms. I had several jobs that were like
that – they were more than I bargained for. I took this one job at a
small hospital where my manager was fired the first week I began employment
(the CEO), and then I had three other managers in the two years I was there.
I took a job once when I knew how to do windows and they were still using
DOS computer operating system. It was archaic (living in the past).
Marriage
can be a can of worms in getting yourself in for more than you bargained
for. I know it was for me in raising step-children and dealing with the
ex-wife and I know my spouse would say the same thing with my four
step-daughters. I spoke to someone who told me his wife left him after
seven months. I guess he was more than she bargained for.
We have the example how Job was
attacked with a series of unfortunate events and the attack was directly
related to his faith. Satan said that Job was only serving God for
material blessings. ("Does Job
fear God for nothing?" Satan replied. Job 1:9) Satan
accused that Job only served Him when the chips are up, not when the chips are
down and complained that God put a protective hedge around him. So all
these attacks happened to him at once and Job held on to his faith. When
your faith is getting attacked, it’s usually faith in that a loving God who
would allow the attacks. Trusting in God that he will work all things
for our good.
Being a Christian for forty years,
it’s all back to God’s grace. We have the example of when they worked in
the vineyard, some started in the morning, at lunch and some came later in the
evening, but they all received the same wages. Matthew 20:1-16. There was
no disparity among workers. Paul said he worked harder than anyone, but
not him it was the grace of God in him. Paul always came back to the
grace of God. He said, “I am what I am by the grace of God.” 1 Cor.
15:10. Peter got off the railroad track for a while and into
works. Paul talked about that in Galatians.
But by the grace
of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I
worked harder than all of them--yet not I, but the grace of God that was with
me. 1 Cor. 15:10
I find when I struggle and strive in
life, get discouraged, I’ve lost my perspective that it’s God’s grace that is
to work through me and out of me. I either am not giving myself grace or
others grace. I’ve come back to that grace is what keeps us in the will
of God. It’s God working his good pleasure in our life.
For we are God's
workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God
prepared in advance for us to do. Ephesians 2:10
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