Remaining in His Care

At the end of each year, our mailboxes are usually deluged with requests from various ministries and charities, asking for a year-end gift. Like all other non-profits (and many churches) we tend to make our year-end budget through the generosity of dear folks who give late in the year. It's a good time to give in order to avoid taxes on IRA withdrawals, etc.

A good part of my time is spent in writing grants, sending thank you notes to donors and managing our budget. And yet I want to always remember that donors, foundations, and generous churches are not the ultimate source of our income. God is. He simply uses people as His instruments of providing for us. If I forget that truth, I can easily slip into idolatry -- putting my trust in money and wealthy people and well-endowed foundations, rather than in the living God.

The more I read the Old Testament, the more I realize that the unregenerated hearts of mankind are bent towards idolatry. People put their trust in what they can see and touch. Powerful leaders, individual prosperity, and a strong economy can give us the illusion that we really don't need God. But inevitability, money and people will let us down. It has for me.

There is a powerful chapter in Hosea 14 that I read this morning. I was so moved in reading how the Lord, heartbroken by His people's idolatry, is wooing them back to Himself. He says,

O Israel, stay away from idols! I am the one who looks after you and cares for you. I am like a tree that is always green, giving my fruit to you all through the year. Let those who are wise understand these things. Let those who are discerning listen carefully. The paths of the LORD are true and right, and righteous people live by walking in them. But sinners stumble and fall along the way. -- Hos. 14:9

I think I'll print that verse on a 3 by 5 card and carry it around with me all day. It will be a reminder that my loving Father will provide everything I need because He indeed is the One who looks after His children and cares for us.

Jim