A Story about Trust

She looked again just to make sure.  It was the same as before.  There was just enough, just enough for one last small loaf of bread.  The rainy season was gone, and now there was nothing but hot sun, blistering winds stripped the landscape and filtered into every crevice and corner of her humble shack. 

And the measure of oil – well, was meager.  Maybe enough for one more loaf to go with her flower.  He son came in just then, and he headed straight for the fireplace, hoping against hope that there might be something to eat.  Disappointed again.

The mother watched her son, sighed deeply and finally gathered her small sack and headed out to the village. 

As she walked along her eyes were on the ground, for she was in search of a few sticks to use to make one last fire.  And after that, what?  The end.  It would be over soon for her and her son.

They would starve.

As she walked along a strange man called out to her.  She did not recognize him, and her nature was to be wary of strangers, yet somehow she felt no fear, only intrigue.  She moved closer and he repeated his request.

“Would you please bring me a bit of water in a jar, for I am parched?”  She turned to leave.  Surely she could do this, for he did indeed seem more desperate than she. 

As she turned to go, he continued speaking, “and could you bring me a piece of bread, please?”

She was astounded.  How dare he ask for bread, today of all days?  Didn't he know these were desperate times?  Didn't he know the crops were failing with this drought?  Didn't he know everybody in town was scrounging for any scrape of food they could find?  Why, the very nerve of him.  Who did he think he was?

That is what she thought, but she responded with, “Sir, I’m sorry.  I’m just now looking for a few sticks to make a fire.  You see, I only have a handful of flour and barely a thimbleful of oil.  Just today I am going home to make a loaf of bread for my son and me and then we shall die.”

He spoke again.  “Please go home and make me one small portion of bread, and then go and make one for you and your son.”  He continued.  “Have no fear. The God whom I serve says this, ‘The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not go dry until the day the Lord sends rain on the land.” 

She was astonished.  She wasn't sure she had heard correctly.  But she obeyed. 

She went home and made the loaf just as this stranger had said.  All the while thinking to herself, “What are we gonna do?  What are we gonna do?”

The bread finished baking and she took it to the strange man. 

All the way back home the hunger pains increased.  The smell of that loaf was driving her crazy with hunger.  And now she faced her son, no oil, no flour and no hope. 

She started laughing.  What was it he had said?  “‘The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not go dry until the day the Lord sends rain on the land.” 

“Oh, that’s a good one” she said out loud.  And continued chuckling to herself.

She rounded the last bend in the road and headed up hill to her home and her son. 

As she entered, she swatted at a few flies, and had to nudge a small lizard that had scampered in through the window. 

Just out of curiosity she removed the lid from the oil jar.  Just an hour ago she had turned it up and poured every drop it held into the mixing bowl. 

She could not believe her eyes.  There in the bottom was what appeared to be as much oil as she had before.  But how?

She reached for the flour.  It didn’t feel empty as it had before.  It felt heavy.  She looked inside.  Her eyes were playing tricks on her.  There was flour in the bottom.  What is going on?

She again replayed that old man’s words in the village. 

‘The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not go dry until the day the Lord sends rain on the land.” 

And for as long as the drought continued, every day she looked, there was oil in the jar and flour in the cupboards.

The faithfulness of God is again on display.

The word is trust. 

This story is based on a Biblical account in 
I Kings 17:8-16.  It is a word of hope and encouragement at God’s ability to meet our needs. 

It is an anchor on which to place your trust.

P Michael Biggs

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Offering Hope

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One Word at a Time

A Word about Worry

If worry has ever plagued you, then I have a word for you about that.

Are you ready?  Here it is.

DON’T!

Don’t worry, that is.  And I get this from a pretty reliable source. 

Christ himself said it.  Read this.

Do Not Worry

²⁵ “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?²⁶ Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? ²⁷ Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?

²⁸ “So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; ²⁹ and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. ³⁰ Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

³¹ “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³² For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. ³³ But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. ³⁴ Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is  its own trouble.

NKJV © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc.

Matthew 6:25-34

These verses hit me squarely between the eyes.  Perhaps you too.  I have a need.  God, in His timing meets that need. 

A day later, perhaps a week later, I face another crisis.  I am back in Fretville.  I am visiting Worry World.  Again I pray.  Again I seek God.  Again He delivers. 

Time and again God comes along and reminds me of who He is and what he is capable of doing. 

And so I trust again. 

This I do know – and I back it up with this scriptural text.

“Once I was young, now I am old.  Through all of my life I have never seen the God-fearing left behind nor in lack of daily needs.”

(Psalm 37:25 Paraphrase by PMB)

I can add a hearty “amen” to this verse.  Hard times have come, yet the steady hand of God has been in great evidence in my life.

A quick story:

Once, when my funds were desperately low, I had my back against the wall and didn't know from where the next sack of groceries would come.  I was selling insurance in Texas at the time. 

Every Friday my manager and I met to go over the previous week’s sales successes. We finally met at 4PM that day and I started into my normal litany of sales calls.

Jimmy stopped me and said, “Aw, we can do that another time.”

He put his hands behind his head, leaned back in his chair and said, “I don’t know quite how to handle something like this.”

He paused, and continued.  “Some friends of yours know that you have been having a tough time and they hope this will help.”  He then reached into his shirt pocket and took out a white envelope and handed it across the desk. 

Inside I found $3,000 in cash.  I was in tears.  I could not believe my eyes. 

Jimmy continued.  “This is a gift.  You do not have to pay it back.”

I was speechless. 

          I was amazed. 

                    I was grateful.

When you ask me if God can meet your needs, I heartily respond, “Absolutely!  He can indeed.”

Note in the scripture above that Christ makes reference to sparrows and flowers.  He asks an important question.

“If I can take care of those creations, don’t you think I can take care of you as well?”

And the answer comes – Yes I do believe … help my unbelief.

God is with you giving you peace in the middle of your storms.

God is able to meet your needs in amazing and even miraculous ways.

Allow your faith to be strengthened in the God who supplies all needs.

P Michael Biggs

Offering Hope

Encouragement Inspiration

One Word at a Time

Facing Your Tomorrows

Do you believe in tomorrow?  Do you have hope for all of your tomorrows? 

Sometimes, our past can so cloud our eyes that we fail to see that there is the bright promise of tomorrow. 

As I reflect back on my own life, I've faced some dark and troubling moments when I doubted that I would see my tomorrows. 

I've waded through the divorce thing twice now.  The second time through I also had to deal with a drug relapse on the part of the woman to whom I was married.  That period in my life was one of great fear and trepidation.  I wondered if I would survive that episode physically, emotionally and financially. 

I remember on more than one occasion when my ex was out on a drug binge and I questioned whether I would get the dreaded phone call that she had been found in an alley somewhere with a gunshot wound, or dead of an overdose. 

I remember another time when I feared that she would bring her pusher to our home in search of money, jewelry, or to take electronic equipment, clothes or any other valuables that could be turned into cash. 

What about your past?  What has happened to cause you fear as you face your tomorrows? 

Are you full of hope?

Are you discouraged?

Do you dread awakening to face yet another day?

I would like to offer you a word of hope.  It is found in the lyrics of a Bill Gaither song – Because He Lives

Because He lives I can face tomorrow

Because He lives all fear is gone

Because I know He holds the future

And life is worth the living just because He lives

I find great encouragement from these words, for I have lived to experience the hope that my future held beyond the present circumstances I was facing.

I have risen from my bed each morning after the devastations spoken of in the above passage. 

I have faced the next day, sometimes still wondering from where the money would come when the bank account was depleted. 

I have also found great comfort and hope in the scriptures for such times as these.

Be not be afraid nor dismayed, for I the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go. 

~Joshua 1:9

And another

For without a doubt I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future full of hope.

~Jeremiah 29:11

My experiences with God have shown me time and again that God can be trusted to get me through this life on earth. 

When I read the news and see what is happening in this world, I wonder about what kind of future we all face.  I ponder the possibilities that mankind can wreck on our existence. 

And then I come back to the scriptures and my own past experiences.  I see the hand of God at work in the middle of these troubles.  And he has never let me down.

It is important to note this – God never promised to keep us from heartache.  He does promise to be with us in the middle of our heartache. 

And so it is true. 

God is with you, right now, in the middle of whatever it is you are facing. 

Perhaps it is time to call on His name.  Ask boldly for what you need, and watch for the hand of God to work in ways beyond understanding.

He is with you and with me in all of our tomorrows. 

I believe!

Please watch this.

Because He Lives 

- Gaither Homecoming Group

My Prayer for You

God:

Sometimes my tomorrows look pretty bleak.  On my worst days I don't want to get out of bed.  Is there hope for the likes of me?

The song above says there is hope. 

The verses of scripture say there is hope. 

I want to believe in hope. 

Mostly, I want to believe in your steady hand on the wheel of this world.  I take a step of faith into your arms Father God.  I trust whatever my future may hold, because I trust your hand that holds me in this moment. 

Amen!

P Michael Biggs

Offering Hope

Encouragement Inspiration

One Word at a Time

The One Who Listens

The great God of the universe issues you and me a most inviting invitation.  He beckons to us.  He reaches for us, and longs for us, and almost jumps out of his divine skin in anticipation of listening to our heart’s aches and breaks.  You see, God wants to enter into the nitty-gritty of life with you and with me. 

He wants to know where it hurts, who hurt us, how they hurt us, how much life sucks, how distraught we are over certain situations, and how low our funds really are.

He wants to know our druthers, our sad circumstances and our silly whims. 

He wants to laugh with us, smile at us, watch us at our play, and rejoice when the sun shines on us and the wind blows gently across our fields.

In a word, God wants a word with us.  He calls to us, He invites us to come.

“Come to me” he says.  “I’ll give you rest and peace.”

“Cast all your cares on me” he says in another place.

And in another, He uses phrases like “Be still and know that I am God.”

Or “Don’t worry about anything.  Pray about everything.”

Do you see – He is someone to whom we can turn.  We can talk to him.

He is the one who listens.

HE LISTENS!

He will put away His cell phone.

He’ll turn down the TV.

He’ll take his hands off the keyboard.

He’ll push back from the pile of work on His desk. 

And He will turn to you and me and say, “Come, my child.  I am listening to you.  Tell me where it hurts.”

A personal story:

I remember opening a password-protected file on my computer called “Morning Pages”.  This space was dedicated to writing anything and everything that came to my mind, and my goal was to write a minimum of 1,000 words per day, every day for thirteen weeks. 

I turned this into mostly a prayer journal.  It became my safe place to lay out before God a lot of stuff going back to my childhood.  I unloaded a ton of stuff – words, phrases, experiences, people, situations, incidents with which I frequently revisited down through the years. 

For me, that was a sacred space where I met with God time and again, and in a spirit of prayer and confession, remembrance and relief I poured out my heart and connected with God in a way that I don’t think I’ve ever experienced before that time.  Many of those issues raised had never been heard by any other human being on earth, but God heard them.  God read them, and He came down and we talked, we grieved together, He comforted, He guided me in the sorting and the processing, and I found THE ONE WHO LISTENS.

He really does, you know.

Find your own way of communicating with Him.  He wants to hear your story as well.  He will listen; no judgment, no condemnation and no rebuke.  Just love, compassion, forgiveness, and peace.

PEACE!

Today, make an appointment with the one who listens.

For He really does listen.

Really!

P Michael Biggs

Offering Hope

Encouragement Inspiration

One Word at a Time

Running Toward God

His name is spoken a thousand, yeah, a million times a day.  And the amazing thing to remember is this – He hears every call, every cry, every utterance tossed His way.

That is the amazing thing about God.  He hears and He cares.

My friend Morris had a heart scare recently.  He already runs with God and on this occasion he ran toward God even more quickly.  And God was there.

My grand niece is facing some serious health issues for a small child.  Her parents, grandparents, great grandparents and others are running toward God on VJ’s part and in support of her.  And God is there.

My nephew is facing cancer.  He is running toward God.

I know some people who are facing financial stresses.  They are running toward God.

I read a story of a prostitute recently who has a two-year-old daughter.  Every night, after finishing her trade, she comes home, tucks her little girl into bed, retires to her own room and runs into the outstretched arms of God.  And she finds grace. 

I run toward God.  I am needy.  I am sometimes a fragile man in need of redemption and the close redemptive love of my God.  And I find His grace to help in my time of need.

Do you feel that need?  Then I have some assuring news. 

God is here – now.  He is waiting just for you.  He knows your name, and what you need. 

He’s just waiting for you to come running to Him. 

What is your battle?  I read some tremendously encouraging words tonight in Exodus 14:14. 

God will fight the battle for you.

There are no qualifiers listed here.  It simply says God will fight for you, no ifs, ands, or buts’.

Need forgiveness? 

     He’s fighting for you.

Need redemption? 

     He’s fighting for you.

Need peace? 

     He’s fighting for you.

Need a fresh start? 

     He’s fighting for you.

Need reconciliation? 

     He’s fighting for you.

Whatever the size of your battle, always remember – God is fighting for you.

You are not alone.

You are not abandoned.

You have Team God on your side.

Trust!

P Michael Biggs

Offering Hope

Encouragement Inspiration

One Word at a Time

Is There Absolute Redemption

We have posed a serious question with this subject matter today.  The question of redemption, first of all, is one with which many grapple.  Can we find redemption for all sins?  And if by chance we do find redemption, is it absolute?  Are our sins absolutely and completely redeemed?

Ultimately, we are asking this:  Can we trust God to do what He says He will do? 

Let us start with a good understanding of the word “absolute.”

The synonyms I find are these:

   Total

    Complete

     Utter

      Unqualified

       Unconditional

        Unlimited

         Supreme

          Fixed

           Unmodified

            Unquestionable

That is quite a list of descriptors for the word “ABSOLUTE”.

And when we couch redemption in with the absolute mindset, well, we stand amazed.  Some scratch their heads and ponder this imponderable.

And we come back to the question “HOW?”

How can we achieve absolute redemption?

How can we be forgiven of some of the nasty stuff in our bag of life?

Does God really know who we are and what we’ve done, and for how long? 

Yes

Yes

And YES!

I am reminded of this great story by Earnest Hemingway in his short story The Capital of the World.  He tells the story of a father and his teenage son who lived in Spain.  Their relationship became strained, and the son ran away from home. 

Soon the father began a long journey in search of his son.  Finally, in desperation, he decided to put an ad in the Madrid newspaper as a last resort.  His son’s name was Paco, a very common Spanish male name.  The ad simply read:

As Hemingway writes, the next day 800 men named Paco showed up at the newspaper office seeking forgiveness.

We ask the question – Is there absolute redemption?

Yes, my friend.  A thousand times “Yes” and here is why I believe in absolute redemption.

My Bible tells me this:

The Invitation:  “Come to me all who are so very tired, weary and worn.  I’ll give you rest.”  (Matthew 11:28)

The Promise:  “God loved the world so much that He gave His son, the Redeemer – Jesus Christ.”  (John 3:16)

Our Part:  “If we confess … He will forgive our sins and remove them from us as far away as the east is from the west, and will never remember them against us any longer.” (I John 1:9 & Psalm 103:12)

Either we believe God’s word found in the Bible or we don’t. 

God is all about grace.

He is all about second and third chances, and fifty-three chances. And forgiveness one-hundred-and-one times over.

He forgives.

He redeems.

And you can absolutely count on it, for it really is absolute redemption.

P Michael Biggs

Offering Hope

Encouragement Inspiration

One Word at a Time

The Presence

Since I've never seen God in the flesh the only way I have of relating to Him is as a presence I often feel/sense around me.  During my ministry days in churches we would often pray prayers asking God to come down and be with us. 

Does God need an invitation to visit with us?  Do we have to invite Him to go with us tomorrow morning, or to join us at breakfast each morning?

I don’t think so.  Rather, I believe I need to tune in to God.  He is already with me.  I just need to acknowledge Him and choose to be in relationship with Him.

You see, God is here, now, with me on a Saturday night as I write this post, and He is with you right this moment, at whatever time it may be, in whatever state or country you may reside as you read this.  God is present NOW!

Isn't that an amazing thought?  We don’t invite him to join us.  We move closer to him.  We focus on Him and His presence.  And we find him.  He is close.  He is near.  He is present.  He is available. 

Available.  I like that.  God is available to me and to you wherever you are at this moment.

The concept of omnipresent is a huge one.  God is the only deity capable of being a presence at all times and in all places.

Jeremiah 23:24

“Am I not present everywhere, whether seen or unseen?”

Proverbs 15:3

“The Lord watches over us constantly; He keeps an eye on both the good and the evil.” (Paraphrase by PMB)

Somehow, I take great comfort in that fact.  God is with me.  God is watching me.  He is present ...

 In the good the bad

  The easy times

   The difficult times

    The joyful moments

     The sad experiences

      The abundant times

       The poor times

God is present.

No begging required.

No posturing to get His attention.

No bribing Him to show up.

We don’t have to wear special clothes.

We don’t have to eat certain foods.

He is present.

He is here, now. 

Do we sense Him?

Do we embrace His presence?

Bottom line … you never leave the presence of God.

Maybe it is time to fully embrace the God who is present, now, in this moment, in this space.

He is waiting for you to notice Him.

P Michael Biggs

Offering Hope

Encouragement Inspiration

One Word at a Time