Every good thing I have comes from you.
My future is in your hands.
I may receive a wonderful inheritance from you.
What you assign me I like.
I praise the Lord for giving me good counsel.
You show me the way that leads to life.
You give me joy, for you are with me;
from your hand I receive infinite happiness.
(Psalm 16 translated from a German Bible version)
I am abundantly gifted, now and in the future! I don't have to take care of it myself and doggedly and greedily search and collect what I want. I want to embrace God´s gifts! Why do we often find it so difficult to accept gifts? We plan our happiness, know exactly what we are missing, and often overlook what God wants to give us. He knows what's good for me. My future is in his hands. I even am his heiress. I'm extremely rich!
Sometimes when I go for a walk in the forest, I remember that it all belongs to my Dad: the forest, the mountains, everything I can see... And that's why it's all mine, too - without me having to buy it!
Last week I received three gifts from God:
-I wanted to buy a pretty cardigan, but I didn't find the right one. Two days later I got three beautiful tops in the right colors as a gift, which someone had decluttered. In really good quality. Much better than if I had chosen and shopped myself!
-We have been looking for new chairs for our dining table for some time. Comfortable, beautiful and not super expensive, they should be. I would have found exactly the right second hand on the Internet, but unfortunately far too far away to be able to buy them. A few days later I checked the price in the store again and suddenly they were reduced by half! Cheaper than used! Happy.
-We want to spend a special holiday with our children this year. They are all growing up and who knows if it is not the last real family holiday. We already had different ideas, but we didn't find the right one yet. It was interesting that I unintendedly said that we wanted to go to Greece several times, although I just mixed countries. Until we had a look at what such a flight to Greece would cost and which islands would be possible - and indeed! We found a flight bargain for the five of us! To the same island where we spent our honeymoon 25 years ago! Only then did I remember that we said we would come back for our 25th anniversary... Now we can show our island to our children!
Apparent coincidences that do good, blessings from God. He knows what I need, what I want. He even remembers forgotten wishes! He doesn't do this so that I have a comfortable life. But to show me that he takes good care of me and that I can trust him. Because he loves me, and he likes to make me happy.
I don't want to doggedly chase my goals to get what I've put in my head. Otherwise I will miss what God wants to give me! He wants to shape my character. To show me how tall he is and how much he loves me. He steers me in the right direction and puts hints and gifts at my feet.
I want to be open to God's surprises instead of doggedly achieving my goals. Relaxed and ready for his gifts. Not forcing things. Being amazed and grateful. Try something new. God is so much greater than I thought, and as soon as I think I got it, He deliberately throws me off track and surprises me. He also challenges me to rethink traditions and think outside the box. The world is not black and white and it sometimes irritates me not to have a concrete instruction manual. But I think God already expects more of me. More questions and more surprises.
God shows me the way that leads to life. Adventure and joy and infinite happiness! Because God is with me.
If God gives such attention to the appearance of the wildflowers, don´t you think he´ll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you? What I´m trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God´s giving.
Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don´t worry about missing out. You´ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.
Matthew 6:30