Freely Speaking with Sarah

Today is my birthday! I’m another year older, another year “wiser.” As I’ve thought about the past year, I can see many places where God placed His hand and His Holy Spirit over me. These are points in my life when I used to say, “We got lucky” instead of “God provided.”

Changing my stance to focusing on God’s provision instead of trusting my circumstances to luck has made it much easier to see how He works in all areas of my life. This has made me thankful to serve a God who loves and cares about us. When others examine our lives and see praise for the Lord in startling places, it’s hard for them to understand.

Believe it or not, we aren’t the first to face this. Paul writes, “If I take part in the meal with thankfulness, why am I denounced because of something I thank God for? So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:30-31 ESV). Those around him didn’t understand many things Paul did. People didn’t know how he could go from a life of wealth and status to a life of prison and rags, all for Jesus. Paul didn’t worry about that. He didn’t show embarrassment or start to claim “luck” when chains broke from him in prison. Paul continued to praise God as his Lord and Savior.

Today, I invite you to investigate your life as we wrap up one holiday and move into another Christmas season. As we move towards celebrating the birth of our Savior, take a deep dive into places in your life where you have attributed success to your own works. Pause and say a prayer of thanks that the Lord had His hand in providing for you.

Thank you, Jesus, for your abundant provision in my life!