– Hi! How are you doing?
The question we should ask instead is:
– Hi! Where are you looking?
Because the state of our heart doesn’t really depend on what we’re going through but on what we’re looking at! Are you looking at your problem or at the solution, Jesus?
Example of something that just happened to me:
Money issue
Uh…warning!
Taking me aside, the workshop’s accountant announces to me that our numbers are in the red… again!
– Oh well… business as usual!
But she insists:
–uh… it’s never been as bad; this time we’re 120,000 CHF short!
Ouch! Doesn’t sound good… I ponder.
I’ve already been where there was nothing for my family to eat, and God provided with a miracle: someone rang at my door with all the ingredients to cook a meal (the idea had come to them out of the blue)
Are we a more complicated miracle for God? Absolutely not!
So, I calmly tell my accountant:
– Don’t worry, God will provide!
I went back to my work in peace. I’m working on a beautiful parable that I know will touch a lot of people. Everything’s fine (and beyond).
Looking at the concern
But a little later, my wife sends me a text message to tell me we can’t use our credit card any more. The anxiety I had been able to shush, suddenly kicked in.
Disquieted by this new information, I tend to look at it. I didn’t sleep well at all that night.
Money
The next day, I went to church and during the offerings the Lord told me:
– Give the 5 CHF you’ve got.
I hesitated:
– Uh, u sure…?
But I opened my wallet and as I was holding the coin, I remembered it had “Dominus providebit”, (“God will provide”), written on its edge.
So, I gave it and after my nap (back home, not during the preaching!), bam! I get up with this haunting thought:
– Go visit so-and-so!
I really wanted to see them again, on top of it. But I didn’t feel like taking the car. So, I started arguing:
– But Lord! I don’t have enough fuel. I’ll be ridiculous if I run dry.
– Go!!
(okay! okay!) So I visit these people and we catch up. I’m thrilled to see them again.
As I’m about to leave, they stop me:
– Wait, we’ve got something for you!
They handed me an envelope with 1,200 Euros. In shock, I tell them that I can’t accept, that I… when I hear the Lord thinking inside me:
– Accept!
And as I’m driving back, He adds:
– It’s from me…
Later, I topped up (and not just the tank) So, yeah! I’m aware I still owe the bank a lot, and I don’t have a clue where that money will come from, but… I’m looking in the right direction. So, I’m at peace and more than okay.
“I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears. Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame.” Psalm 34:4-5
Alain
You can subscribe to Alain Auderset’s newsletter here