The Test of Plenty

As I look around I see many people that I love going through hardships which are teaching them to endure.  The testing of our metal is something that each of us will face several times in our lives.  Can we make it through the pressure?  Will we stretch out our hands and cry out to God or hate him instead?  Will we keep on believing in a good God while life feels anything but good, or will we give up and give in? 

I’ve been in this kind of place more times than I can count and managed to hang on because of God's love.  As strange as it sounds I feel I am in a new kind of test…the test of having more than I need.  You might say that this isn’t a test and that I should shut up and enjoy myself while I can.  But that's just it... as much as this time of peace is a gift from God the enjoyment of that gift is the very thing that has threatened to make me apathetic.  There is a temptation to forget God who has helped me through the hard times as I kick back and relax in this times of plenty.

I must admit that it is very easy to work all the time, pile up savings, play, stay entertained and sleep the rest of the time, but I've had to choose to seek God for wisdom and guidance as things are moving along smoothly.

One of my favorite books in the Bible is Deuteronomy because there is so much in it about human nature.  It shows how we can be ungrateful on the heals of being saved, how we can have our bellies filled and still be unsatisfied and how we can see our dreams fulfilled by God and then completely forget all about HIM.  One of my favorite verses from Deuteronomy came to mind today.

“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.  When the LORD your God brings you into the land he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you--a land with large, flourishing cities you did not build, houses filled with all kinds of good things you did not provide, wells you did not dig, and vineyards and olive groves you did not plant--then when you eat and are satisfied, be careful that you do not forget the LORD, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.” Deuteronomy 6:4-12 (NIV)

It can happen, as crazy as it seems, we can forget all about God and how HE is the reason life is worth living.  This is something I am now aware of.  I still need God, I still desire to have him in my heart and thoughts daily.  So it is a choice for me to pray in times when I don't need to cry out for help and replace those prayers with words of thankfulness to God for his goodness to me.  To sing songs of praise, not because I need to be pulled out of the mire of discouragement but rather to celebrate God’s faithfulness to me.  I think I was close to loosing this battle of ease, but maybe God will be able to trust me with his promise land knowing that I won’t loose sight of him because of it.  This is one test I want to pass!!!