God's Giving

Daily Reading: Jeremiah 27-28

Scripture Focus: Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: This is what you shall say to your masters: “It is I who by my great power and my outstretched arm have made the earth, with the men and animals that are on the earth, and I give it to whomever it seems right to me.” (Jeremiah 27.4-5)

Devotional Thought:  The theory of evolution is sometimes characterized as "the survival of the fittest."  Life on earth has advanced as the fittest survive and the weakest decline.

God has a method of surviving - of thriving! - as well.  He has "made the earth" by his "great power" and "outstretched arm," establishing the laws (physical, moral, and spiritual) of creation.  He gives the earth (i.e. allows to possess it and live on it, and thrive in it) "to whomever it seems right to me."  God has made the world with cause and effect, input and output, action and reaction.  When we live within the principles of God, we inherit the blessings of God.  When we choose to ignore the principles of God, we "roll the dice."

Receiving the blessing of God, however, is not a guarantee of prosperity - or even of survival.  God blesses each person in the place where they are, in their particular station of life.  A child is blessed within the framework of being dependent.  A teen is blessed within the context of beginning to establish their own way.  An adult is blessed according to their circumstances.  A person living in a free and prosperous society will experience the "giving" of God differently from the one living in a despotic and poor nation.  The point is, wherever we - as God's children - find ourselves, we will experience the power and outstretched arm of the Lord of hosts.

This concept is hard for us to accept in a time when equality of outcomes is the expectation.  Not everyone will be given the same opportunities, but each one should use their circumstance to the glory of God and the good of others.

Prayer: Father, I do not understand why I am blessed the way I am while others experience hardship and even persecution.  Help me, like you, to give hope and peace where I can.  Amen.

Psalm of the Day: Psalm 119.1-8

1 Blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the Lord!

2 Blessed are those who keep his testimonies, who seek him with their whole heart,

3 who also do no wrong, but walk in his ways!

4 You have commanded your precepts to be kept diligently.

5 Oh that my ways may be steadfast in keeping your statutes!

6 Then I shall not be put to shame, having my eyes fixed on all your commandments.

7 I will praise you with an upright heart, when I learn your righteous rules.

8 I will keep your statutes; do not utterly forsake me!