If God "provides all our needs" why do so many third world babies starve? (and more)

Q. If one of the foundational truths of our faith is that "God will provide all your needs", how do we put that in context with martyrdom, God's sovereignty, the third world, and Psalm 116:15 (Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints). If we exclude life, limb, comfort, food, and clothing from this promise, what exactly is it promising? Is it only spiritual? If so, why are we considering birds and flowers (Matthew 6:28 and 10:29)?

To begin with, I probably wouldn't characterize the idea that "God will provide all your needs" as a foundational truth of our faith. When I think "foundational truths" I hear one of the ancient creeds of the church. These creeds embody beliefs like "God made the universe," "Jesus is God's son," "Jesus was raised from the dead," and things like that. And in America, the notion of "what I need" is very often at odds with the Way of Jesus.

However, to address the idea of God's provision and sovereignty, and their relationship to the third world and martyrdom, we can begin with some basics.

First, Scripture is best understood as a whole piece of fabric; not every thread can equally represent the whole. God's provision for us can be seen from our perspective (a limited kind of view) or from God's perspective (of which we only have the barest understanding). There are good times to consider the birds and flowers, as Matthew 6:28 enjoins us, and there are other times when we are overwhelmed by the sorrow and suffering of the world, and we wonder what on Earth God has in mind. In the end, God's sovereignty means that there is so much more to life, death, and life after death than we will ever understand.

We do know this: God made us creatures of choice, and since we don't always make the best choices, there's going to be a lot of brokenness in the world. Americans are overweight while Rwandans starve. God could step in and address this, and God does it all the time: ever known a young person who left a promising career in law to feed children in Thailand? Ever been a part of a church that consistently creates opportunities to collect food for hungry people? Then you've seen, or been a part of, a tiny part of God's provision.

The issue of martyrdom and God's provision and sovereignty is more complex, but we still have some handles on it. Martyrdom, when it means dying for the cause of God (people will die for lots of causes, not all of them have anything to do with God), has long been understood in the church to be an act imitative of Christ's sacrifice of his life on our behalf. My understanding of God in Jesus does not make me think he enjoys death. In fact, the resurrection shows us that he will stop at nothing to be united with us in love no matter how much death we deal out.

The fact is that Jesus had the power to kill his enemies, and chose to love them instead. He died because he refused to kill. Many Jesus-followers have found themselves in similar situations. We often have the power to kill our enemies. Very often we tie our cause to God so that it feels morally right, although how often we've discerned that correctly is up for debate.

Sometimes we don't have the power to kill our enemies, but we do have the power to deflect our own deaths or suffering. On my first day in seminary, a teacher read aloud to our class the ancient account of the martyrdom of Saints Perpetua and Felicity, much of which was written by Perpetua herself. At the end, many of us were in tears, and indeed, these two women's faith -- even unto death -- seemed deeply precious. Both of them could have avoided death by recanting their faith. They chose instead a path I can hardly fathom. In their story I see the brokenness of the world, the faith of two women (one pregnant and one a slave), and a God who inspires a kind of devotion I've never been called on to show. I come away with a different perspective on my life, and God's provision for me.

How do you know if it's God?

Q. I know someone who says God spoke to her in a dream. How do I know whether it was really God?

This is a question about discernment. In knowing what is or isn't "of God," there are at least three good sources of authority you can utilize.

1. The witness of Scripture. People love, of course, to pull out specific verses that they can use to "prove" or "disprove" things, but the best way to use it is as a whole, with an emphasis on the life and ministry of Jesus. In this case, Scripture shows us that God does in fact show up repeatedly in people's dreams, visions, musings, writings, and even in person.

2. The witness of God's people. The Bible and God's continuing interaction with creation is best interpreted in the context of a community of faith. The first thing young Samuel did when God called him in a dream was to go to Eli, his mentor in the church (1 Samuel 3). A great verse that tells about discernment in the New Testament church is Acts 15:28, in which the apostles say, "It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and us…" There's the community of faith working to know God's will in the specifics.

3. The witness of the fruit that is borne (Matthew 7:16). The great evangelist, biblical scholar and teacher John Wesley was calm in the midst of the howling going on over women preaching in his day. In the end, he simply said that women's preaching bore great fruit, and people's lives were transformed as a result of his willingness to enable women to continue their service. With regard to dreams, the question to ask is how it played out. Did the results build the Kingdom? Were lives changed for the better?

A Quote for Questioners

"Be patient towards all that is unsolved in your heart and dreams, try to love the questions themselves." -- Rainer Maria Rilke

How do I give 100% of my efforts to Jesus?

Q: How do I give 100% of my efforts to Jesus? There are times I feel it is so easy and other times it is such a struggle. Does the day come when everything falls in place and stays in place?

This is the constant struggle of a Jesus-follower: Can I watch the game, love my spouse, teach high school, play in a rock band, and discipline my toddler, all for God? The answer is yes, you can. There are a few really big things that can help you become fully alive in Christ (or give 100% of your life).

1. Make worship a way of life. If you try to live each day honoring God in all that you do and loving and serving creation, you'll be less tempted to box away small sections of your life that "don't count". Having Jesus as Lord means his Way is the guideline for everything you do, not just what you do on Sunday. That includes relationships, finances, mental and physical health, work, and play.

2. Be a part of a community of faith. Having other people around who are trying to do the same thing you are – follow God – is a huge help. It's a big reason why Jesus created the church, in fact.

3. Find out what your strengths are, and operate out of them. When you love and live and work primarily out of your strengths, you honor the way God made you and you live really well. So, if you are by nature and giftedness an incredibly skilled mathematician, your job as a property manager may not honor God and inspire people the way a job as an engineer might. Where natural and built-up ability, special giftedness, and personal passion intersect, there is a beautiful and holy synergy. When you get there, you can function at the center of God's purpose for you.

4. Serve. It's amazing how much service helps us understand Jesus. This is another great thing about being a part of a community of faith – we are always seeking opportunities to serve because it matures us in our faith.

And yes, there are days (weeks, months, seasons) when it seems nearly effortless. And yes, there are days (weeks, months, seasons) when it's an incredible struggle. And we mess it up plenty. The good news is that God's love for us is not dependent on or equivalent to how much we "get it right". And there's a remedy for our sin, which the church calls confession (naming our sin before God), repentance (turning back toward God), and forgiveness (being made clean again by God).

Does the Bible have relevance today?

Q: The Bible is old and pretty sexist; how can it have any relevance today?

The Bible is a record of God's interaction with creation, in all creation's glory and brokenness. In other words, when our lives are broken, bound up in sexism or any other "ism", scripture reflects that brokenness, as well as the power for healing that God brings.

So, yes, it's old; God's been interacting with us since "in the beginning". Yes, you'll read about lots of messed-up people in there. And given how broken we still are (after all these years!), it's still speaks with profound relevance to our lives.

Three great quotes from today's worship

"There is no point in getting into an argument about this notion of loving. It is what Christianity is all about -- take it or leave it. Christianity is not about ritual and moral living except insofar as these two express the love that causes both of them. We must at least pray for the grace to become love." - Brennan Manning, "A Glimpse of Jesus," quoted by Matt Brown in his teaching today.

"Love is so boring to people who crave controversy." - Matt Brown

"Easter was our Independence Day from sin and death." - Matt Brown (who added, over lunch, "We should have fireworks on Easter!")

“I can feel God’s pleasure”

by Lance Bledsoe

There’s a great line from the 1981 movie “Chariots of Fire,” which is a dramatization of the life of the British Olympic sprinter Eric Liddell. At one point in the film, Liddell is trying to explain to someone why he enjoys running so much, and he’s having a hard time putting it into words. He finally says, “When I run, I can feel God’s pleasure.”

Anyone who’s ever been a runner, even a casual runner, knows that sometimes while running you will find that you have entered that place known as “the zone.” When you’re in the zone, everything feels effortless, and you just feel like you could run forever.

A few days ago I was running and I found myself in the zone, and I remembered Liddell’s quote about feeling God’s pleasure. It occurred to me that while Liddell was specifically referring to running, I like the quote even outside the context of running.

Liddell wasn’t so much declaring that running was somehow an especially holy or noble activity, though I suspect that for him it was. What he was commenting on was the fact that he had discovered a particular gift that God had given him, and when he made use of that gift, he knew that God was pleased. He could feel it. God had made him to run, and when he ran, he was perfectly in tune with the person God had created him to be.

I have known a number of people over the years who have discovered gifts that God had given them in different areas, some of which you might not think of as being particularly holy. Parents, teachers, artists, musicians, nature-lovers; I knew one woman who cleaned houses for a living, and she absolutely loved her work. It’s a wonderful feeling to discover a gift that God has given to you and to feel the pleasure of using that gift, not just the pleasure that it gives to you, but the pleasure that it gives to God, and often the pleasure that it gives to others.

Liddell’s comment about feeling God’s pleasure is also a wonderful way to think about being the people that God has made us to be. What gifts has God given to you, and how do you use them? When do you feel God’s pleasure?

Living Real

by Cara McLauchlan

It’s time for me to start being more honest about things. Like the fact that I don’t like Starbucks Coffee. There. I said it. I know everyone loves Starbucks Coffee and how great it tastes. But I really think that it tastes like someone’s socks that have been boiled for long periods of time.

I've decided that this is going to be my “Year of the Real.” I’ve noticed that my life has slowly gathered a lot of unwelcome clutter. Things that I have not really said “yes” to, but that I have not said “no” to in an out loud way.

My life has become about keeping my options neatly packaged and hermetically sealed. I don’t know how I got so afraid. It seems to go out and claim your “Yes!” you have to be a bit naked. I have been silently closing, locking and boarding up every open door of risk for fear of something bad happening.

Thoughts of the Boogie Man, children dying in the night, robbers, house fires, IRS audits and the fact that I haven’t cleaned out my dryer lint trap fill my head every night. I have found so many things to fear. I think there is a demented place in me that thinks if I actually worry about it, I can somehow prevent it from happening.

The truth is that bad stuff happens even if we worry about it. But so does the good. And you might as well go about enjoying your stay here on earth until the Big Guy calls your number.

Which brings me to the subject of God. I think God likes to hear us speak to him in a real way – even if it’s not holy or flowery or even happy. And praying does not just happen on our knees or with the Bible neatly placed before us. I pray to God as I am driving, when I’m exercising, when I am cooking. My favorite time to pray is when I am pumping gas. I have found that because I drive a ridiculous gas-guzzler, I can create a bit of peace about it by praying for people while I fill up. I think God likes it when we include him our days, even if it’s at the gas station.

Living real can be hilarious. This week I was driving past a group of construction workers and for the 999th time they all stopped, stared and oogled me as I went by. Instead of my typical approach of feeling intimidated and averting my eyes, I did something else. I looked them all directly in the eyes and like a five-year-old I stuck out my tongue, crossed my eyes and made an absolutely ridiculous face.

They were stunned. They couldn’t believe this well-dressed, suburban woman would do such a thing. I roared with laughter as I watched their faces in my rear-view mirror.

I was real. I didn’t back down. And it felt really good.

Cara McLauchlan is really a writer that lives in Fuquay-Varina, NC. When she is not making ridiculous faces at construction workers, she is also a mommy and believes that Flavia makes the best coffee on this planet. She can be reached at cara@crankymommies.com or 919/552.1818.