R= Receive the Benefits of God’s Provision
Welcome to week three of the STRENGTH approach to Christian Wellness. In week one I covered S= Strategies for lasting change and in week two T=Tastes that Satisfy. Today is R= Receive benefits of God’s provision in scripture and the garden. I pray you and I are ready to dive in and receive what God has for us today!
When we are in a posture to accept such a gift, we get a deeper appreciation of all power and authority belonging to God. He spoke the plants into being and gave them the ability to restore and repair cells. Our thoughtful, loving Creator knew what you and I would need before we came to be.
Let His kindness and care wash over you a few minutes.
Who loves you so much, that every need your physical body requires to function is placed at your fingertips? God does. He said,
“Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food.”
However, God’s presence among us is even more impressive! Our souls long for Him and He is there. Opening the bible daily with intention, gives us all of Him. It is the living Word (Hebrews 4:12) capable of filling us with encouragement, wisdom, love, and strength.
The Lord is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults,
and with my song I give thanks to him.Psalm 28:7
He is our strength, and apart from Him we can do nothing (John 15:5) However, to receive what God has to offer, we must ask.
Jesus said, “Therefore, I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.
But what is it we truly want to receive?
Is it a desire for more of Him and less of the world? It is less instant gratification ruling choices more than the Creator? Maybe it’s freedom from daily choices hindering lasting joy or fruit of the Christian faith? The fruit of the Spirit like love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control (Gal 5:22).
The context of Mathew 11:24 shows Jesus and the disciples approaching a fig tree the day before and not finding any fruit on it for them to eat. Jesus said, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” The physical meets the spiritual as he moves on to Jerusalem and overturns the money-changers’ tables in His Father’s house. The house of prayer had been turned into a market place. The hearts of those in attendance, were far removed from the Lord and focused on their immediate needs.
The next day, the disciples witnessed the withered fig tree and Peter says, “Rabbi look! The fig tree you cursed has withered. Jesus answers, “Have faith in God. Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him.”
What is the spiritual or emotional mountain that you and I need to receive peace from today?
If we are feeling withered and drained of energy, focus, and excitement, we can pray to receive it today! God is faithful to the heart that believes He is capable. I believe, we’ll both find that he is willing to remove it from us and give us a contentment we’ve never known before.
In addition, benefits of receiving God’s Word, is how it renews our minds. We confess to the Lord Jesus Christ any emotion, addiction, areas of unbelief, or disregard for His provision in prayer. The mountain of guilt and shame we experience with every failure and weakness is lain at His feet.
Moreover, we have new eyes to receive God’s provision in scripture and the garden as compared to what the world offers. As the fleeting pleasures of the world fail to meet the deepest needs of our soul, the desire to give in to them will depart.
“But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.” Romans 13:14
The table below shows a comparison of what we choose to receive from God and the scriptures and what we choose to receive from the world.
The bottom line is YOU and I matter to God.
Therefore, the daily choices we make matter to God, too. Our attitude, speech, tone of voice, how we treat one another and ourselves scream to the world where we stand in our faith. The food choices we make also reveal little appreciation for physical wellness.
But is does not have to be that way!
The hard truth you and I face daily in the mirror is we cannot do it alone. When we willfully seek the things of the flesh, and turn to receive things of the world to satisfy needs, we look just like the unbelievers around us. The message sent to our Father in heaven, and the world is, “I know best”.
Furthermore, the serpent’s lie to Eve in the garden is still alive and thriving today. But God is not holding out on us! He sternly warned her son Cain to be cautious about his attitude and actions. I understand it as a warning for me and what I choose to receive as well.:
“…because sin is crouching at the door and it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.” Genesis 4:7b New International Version
Three questions I’d like you and I to ponder this week and pray about are:
- How much am I like Eve and Cain in choosing to receive what the world offers?
- What part of this world holds such vast joy that I choose to receive it over God’s provision in scripture and the garden?
- What mountain of habitual behavior (or sin) below inhibits me from living in full joy and what would it feel like to have victory over it for good?
| pride | boasting | shame | guilt | judgement | coveting | alcoholism | fear |
| jealousy | greed | gluttony | loneliness | hatred/anger | insecurity | smoking | anxiety |
| envy | rejection | laziness | gossip | materialism | vanity | sadness | lust |
| idolatry | poor coping | food addiction | disrespect | fighting | stress | apathy | discontentment |
| selfishness | self-harm | destructive thoughts | disbelief | lack of faith | distrust | pain |
Please know, I need this series as much as you do! I am praying for you and learning alongside you as I study God’s life-changing Word. May we both receive the benefits of God’s provision in scripture and the garden each day to live full lives!
Prayer:
God in heaven, you are holy, mighty, generous, and merciful! Your abundant provision in scripture and the garden are powerful to restore my mind and body. I need more of both, Lord, each day. Therefore, I confess my weakness of flesh, and my desire to please the flesh. May the harmful choices I receive from the world become repulsive. Please take away the guilt and shame and renew my mind. I want to walk completely with you, mind, body, and spirit. I want to fully function in peace and harmony that only comes with your instruction. In you, there is a contentment that surpasses all understanding, I ask, and I believe I will receive all of you today. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.