Vultures and Trust {Day 29}
I’ll be honest with you. I didn’t want to read today’s devotional.
I am pressed and worn and I don’t want to live open handedly with those who are pressing me today.
Some press in demanding ways, in un-lovely ways. Some in more subtle, deceptive ways. Some are wolves in sheeps clothing, waiting to devour.
I want to hold tightly to my family, not share them with strangers. I want to hold tightly to my time, not give it to those who could care less about the sacrifice. I want to hold tightly to my resources, not give them away to those who seem to have far more than I do anyway.
I don’t want to be a maximist, giving away as much as I possibly can.
But I can’t get by with living that way; so somehow the Lord and I have to process through it… and quick! If you are struggling with living open-handedly, I’m with you and today’s plunge is for the both of us.
Day 29
1. The Bread: Read John 16
2. The Devo: Read Day 29 in Trust Without Borders
3. The Plunge:  So today I’m in murky waters. Maybe I should wait to blog about it until I’m “fixed” of my attitude, ha! But bottom line, I don’t want to keep reaching out, inviting others in, sharing, giving away. My heart is bruised from rejection. It is raw from being transparent. It hurts from being misunderstood. It’s insecure from being judged by strangers.
But I know I can’t stay in this place. I know the biggest fight of the day is the fight to believe.Â
So right now, on the blog, I’m processing through this.
First, I’m going to Isaiah 58.
“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice
    and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
    and break every yoke?
7Â Is it not to share your food with the hungry
    and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—
when you see the naked, to clothe them,
    and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
8Â Then your light will break forth like the dawn,
    and your healing will quickly appear;
then your righteousness[a] will go before you,
    and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.
9Â Then you will call, and the Lord will answer;
    you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.
“If you do away with the yoke of oppression,
    with the pointing finger and malicious talk,
10Â and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry
    and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,
then your light will rise in the darkness,
    and your night will become like the noonday.
11Â The Lord will guide you always;
    he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land
    and will strengthen your frame.
You will be like a well-watered garden,
    like a spring whose waters never fail.
12Â Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins
    and will raise up the age-old foundations;
you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls,
    Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.
And I’m counseling my soul with the Word. It comes down to a matter of trust. Do I really trust God will do what He clearly stated?
Will I believe He will satisfy me and strengthen me and be my glory? That He will be far more to me than what I ever “give away?”
Trust isn’t mental assent. Trust is an action. It is taking the risk. It is acting on what I believe to be true. Will I believe to the point of taking action? And not tomorrow, but today?Â
Friends, I am making the choice to trust God. I am, today, sending out an invite, opening my home to strangers, in a deliberate choice of trust. I am asking others to come into my space so that I can bestow on them a blessing.
I just sent out the invites. Done.
What are you going to do today? How can you give today? In what ways can you be a maximist, giving away as much as you possibly can? I would love to hear!
If you would like to take a step of trust and open your heart to the hungry and oppressed, please consider Nicolae? He is an orphan who needs others to love him like Jesus. I’ve included ways you can help him below.
 Our family is trying to provide Nicolae with a much needed surgery so that he can stop wearing diapers and use the bathroom like a normal boy.Â
All proceeds from Trust Without Borders
are going to fund his surgery. Additionally, you can give directly to his fund below.
Your gift means so much to him! He is believing God for a miracle!
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