Resting in God's Care - The Crosswalk Devotional - April 4
The Crosswalk Devotional
Audio By Carbonatix
By Jennifer Slattery, Crosswalk.com
Resting in God's Care
By: Jennifer Slattery
Bible Reading:
Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” Hebrews 13:5, NIV
For me, it’s easiest to feel content when I’m in a financially secure place. I find this much more challenging when my life feels topsy-turvy and upside down and unexpected bills flood my mailbox. That’s when I most need to remember and hold tight to the second half of today’s verse. God Almighty, my ever-present help in times of need and victorious Savior, remains with me, always.
This was an important truth the author of Hebrews knew first-century Christ followers needed to read. Scholars believe this letter was written sometime between 64-69 AD, during the reign of Emperor Nero, a horrifically cruel and insane leader who used a fire in Rome to launch a violent, government-led persecution against Christians. Meaning that these men and women weren’t just losing jobs and property, and therefore experiencing intense financial insecurity, but also feared imprisonment and death.
Those are not circumstances in which one expects to experience contentment—especially if they feel abandoned and alone. It’s easy to feel that way when we land in a crisis, and those seasons are also when the devil, the enemy of our souls, attacks us with his lies.
We fend off his attacks by turning to God, recognizing and resting in His presence, and thinking deeply on His truth. For me, this means reading passages that have strengthened my soul, journaling on them, and reflecting upon what those passages reveal regarding God’s heart, power, unchanging character, and past faithfulness—in Scripture and my life personally.
The men and women reading the letter our Bibles call Hebrews had a thorough knowledge of Old Testament history. They knew how the Lord had rescued their people from 400 years of slavery and oppression in Egypt. They remembered how He’d led their ancestors through the wilderness for forty years, and how He’d revealed His presence through a pillar of cloud by day and fire by night. They also knew about all the miraculous ways He’d provided for them during that time, by raining sweet wafers called manna from the sky, sending them enough quail to feed all 2-million-plus of them, and causing water to gush from a rock—again, enough for all of them and their animals.
Granted, their overwhelming circumstances might have caused them to lose sight of these events temporarily. Even so, I’m certain the words in today’s verse would’ve immediately turned their thoughts to that pivotal period in their nation’s history. You see, the person writing the letter quoted from Deuteronomy 31, which recorded the time when Moses, the man God used to liberate His people and lead them from Egypt to the land He promised, handed off leadership to his prodigy, Joshua.
At that point, the emerging nation had spent 40 years wandering through the near eastern desert due to their parents’ stubborn lack of faith, and the children, now adults, were about to enter the land first promised to a patriarch named Abraham. Moses, who’d long functioned as the mediator between God and the people, would soon die.
They had reached the very place in the journey in which their parents became paralyzed in fear and refused the abundant gift God had planned for them. This would’ve been an exciting, anxiety-producing, and hope-igniting time for the ancient Hebrews.
Listen to how the Lord prepared them for the massive step of faith ahead of them. In Deuteronomy 31:6, He said, Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”
In the original Hebrew, this could be read as, “He will never relax His grip on your life, stop caring for you, or turn His back on you.”
Intersecting Life & Faith:
According to Hebrews 13:5, it is our understanding of Almighty God’s presence, and all that entails, that leads to contentment. Did you catch that? Listen to the verse again:
Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said,
“Never will I leave you;
never will I forsake you” (NIV, emphasis mine).
To which I’d add, with God’s presence comes power, provision and peace.
This suggests the depth of our contentment, whatever the circumstance, reflects the depth of our trust. The solution, then, is to focus on building our relationship with Christ, asking Him to help us see and remember His faithful care and to help us receive His love, which coexists with all of His other qualities, like His power, wisdom, and sovereignty.
Here’s what I find beautiful and inspiring. We strengthen our relationship with God by turning to Him in times of uncertainty and fear, seeing how He comes through for us in our times of need, which helps us anticipate His care in the future.
Further Reading:
Philippians 4:11-13
1 Timothy 6:6-18
Matthew 6:25-34
Photo Credit:©GettyImages/Prostock-Studio
Jennifer Slattery is a writer and speaker who co-hosts the Faith Over Fear podcast and, along with a team of 6, the Your Daily Bible Verse podcast. She’s addressed women’s groups, Bible studies, and taught at writers conferences across the nation. She’s the author of Building a Family and numerous other titles and maintains a devotional blog at JenniferSlatteryLivesOutLou
She’s passionate about helping people experience Christ’s freedom in all areas of their lives. Visit her online to learn more about her speaking or to book her for your next women’s event, and sign up for her free quarterly newsletter HERE and make sure to connect with her on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and GodTube.
Check out fantastic resources on Faith, Family, and Fun at Crosswalk.com!
Listen to the Jesus Calling Podcast!
Welcome to this special bonus episode of the Jesus Calling Podcast, inspired by the topical themes from Sarah Young’s seasonal prayer devotional Jesus Listens: Prayers for Every Season. Today, we are featuring guests who speak to themes that all of us might be experiencing in this season of winter. As the days grow shorter and the night longer, we are offered a rare gift: permission to stop. This season can be a challenging time for many, and if you are struggling with low spirits, please know you are not alone, and help is available. This episode is an opportunity to honor your weariness, to resist the urge to rush, and to discover the profound healing that happens when we simply let ourselves rest in the stillness. If you like what you hear, be sure to follow Jesus Calling on Apple or Spotify so you never miss an episode!
