When you read an article on this site, it’s rarely something that I’ve written in the last week. Once in a while, something urgent pushes its way to the front of the queue, but most of the time, I write articles in advance, scheduling them for the upcoming weeks.
For whatever reason, I’ve targeted a particular number for how many articles I want to keep in the “Scheduled” category. When I get close to or below that number, I feel compelled to write some more. When I get above that number, I will sometimes put off writing for a while.
Writing isn’t all about me, though. Like teaching from the Bible, I’m convinced that some days God inspires me to write. On other days, when I’m not paying attention to Him, He leaves me to my own devices (which usually means that not much gets written that day – or at least not much worthwhile). In fact, I sometimes find myself getting stuck on my writing when I’m trying to push my “reserve” too far ahead of this number, yet when the queue gets back down close to the target, words will just flow onto the page.
I must be careful not to read too much into this, but sometimes it seems like God just gives me what I need. When I push to stockpile more than I need (to the point where I might trust in a queue of articles and become less dependent upon Him for inspiration), I end up like the Israelites who gathered more manna than they were told to.
Then Moses told them, “Do not keep any of it until morning.” But some of them didn’t listen and kept some of it until morning. But by then it was full of maggots and had a terrible smell. Moses was very angry with them.
Exodus 16:19-20 NLT
Sometimes, though, I think that I’m more like the guy wanting to build bigger barns, in Luke 12:18-19. I look around at what God has blessed me with, and think about how to take it easy. While retirement is probably still a ways into the future for me, I certainly think about it. When I feel caught up on my chores, I tend to squander the time (beyond what I need for basic rest, as God provides) and not use the extra hours to accomplish better things.
The fact is, God always takes care of me, and always provides. I don’t have to worry that He won’t. So, when I go through these times of struggle while I’m trying to stockpile other things to put my faith in, the resistance reminds me to relax, to let go of other things that can’t sustain me, and remember to trust God for the future, instead.
I hope that you find the same peace in Him, today.
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, a Division of Tyndale House Ministries, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Those Who Sin Differently 