God Provides

Do not lose yourself in your everyday work and activities. Rather, lose yourself in God. When you are doing work, let your innermost heart be centered on Him. Live in His presence and abide in Him. Then your work will follow you into eternity, and you will reap a rich harvest.  Basilea Schlink

So yesterday I was driving home from work and talking to my husband on the phone.  Most of you have read my devotionals about the issues I have with the drive-thru pharmacy.  I don’t think they should call it the drive-thru; it should really be called the “Stop and Stay Awhile”. 

At the end of our conversation he stopped and said, “Would you do me a favor?”  Before he could even say what the favor was I said, “You need me to go pick up your prescription?” I am not the only one who has had issues with the pharmacy; it is a close race as to which one of us has had the worst experience. Between the text messages we receive from the pharmacy telling us our prescription is ready and driving to pick it up and it isn’t, to the wobbly prescription delivery box throwing my prescription at me and it landing on the pavement where I can’t get it; is it any surprise that I hate picking up prescriptions.  Every time I say something to someone about the issues I have and say I am going to change to another pharmacy; they tell me the one they use is just as bad.  I guess I should just order the 90 day supply and that way I only have to deal with this every three months. I have started taking my Kindle with me so I have something to do while I am sitting in line.

So I tell my husband that a sign of real love is if your spouse asks you to go and pick up a prescription at the pharmacy.  My husband has picked up my prescriptions for me too, so we must truly love each other to go through that experience over and over again. 

Is it just me or has customer service gone by the wayside.  When you have to choose between bad and worse when dealing with companies; something is definitely wrong. It’s not just customer service either.  We have forgotten how to be kind and helpful.  It is like the never ending cycle we are all in.  It’s like stepping on the merry-go-round and not being able to get off. I am away from my home from 5:30am until 6:00pm.  If I have to pick up prescriptions make that 7:00pm.  So I am working or driving for 13 ½ hours per day.  If I did a survey of each of you, I would probably have the same results.  Our days are so busy and full that we don’t have any quiet time to just sit or spend time with God.  Is it any wonder that we get aggravated with the pharmacy and everyone else in our life.

How do we get out of this cycle?  How do we get off the merry-go-round of life? Maybe the answer is simpler than I think.  In Luke 18 we read about a young ruler who was very rich.  He approached Jesus to ask Him how he could inherit eternal life.  Jesus listed the things that he needed to do and the young ruler told Jesus he had done all those things.  Jesus knew what was in the man’s heart because His next response was tough.  He told him to do three more things.  Sell what you own, give to the poor and follow Me.  The rich young ruler made a choice.  He walked away sorrowful because he was very rich and couldn’t let go and follow Him. 

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I am guilty of forgetting that You provide for my needs.  I start buying into the worldly view that if I work harder, spend more, give up more of my time to worldly pursuits then I will be successful by the world’s standards.  I know in my heart what I should do. Every person on earth has exactly the same amount of time in their day.  We can’t make more time, find more time or buy more time.  Help me to give up the unimportant things in my life that keep me from doing Your will and follow You.      

      

Scripture: Jesus Counsels the Rich Young Ruler

Now a certain ruler asked Him, saying, “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”

So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery,’ ‘Do not murder,’ ‘Do not steal,’ ‘Do not bear false witness,’ ‘Honor your father and your mother.’ ”

 And he said, “All these things I have kept from my youth.”

So when Jesus heard these things, He said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”

But when he heard this, he became very sorrowful, for he was very rich.  Luke 18:18-23