One thing Jesus encountered in the wilderness was simplicity. There were no distractions, no complications. Just nature, and God. Nothing else was needed. Nothing else was wanted.
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Not that life was simple in those days. An agrarian society was at the mercy of nature. Poverty and slavery were rampant. The Jews were suffering under the Roman Empire. Life expectancy was 35 years, due to poor hygiene and a 30% infant mortality rate.
We have a lot more comforts today. But those comforts come at a price – they make us forget that we depend on God.
In 2011 I bought a new refrigerator with all the amenities. Except … a design flaw caused the water spigot to freeze up occasionally. No worries, they told me: I could replace the fridge or just the door. OR – I could heat water and shoot it up the spigot until the ice melted.
So that is what I did. Every couple of weeks, I filled a squeeze bottle and “defrosted” my water spigot. No big deal. Until it became once a week … every 3 days … every 2 days …
I’d paid for this convenience, and I wanted it. I deserved it! I owned it! At 5 minutes/defrost, it was not a major investment, but the time added up. I was spending almost 4 hours a month melting ice. Worse, I was approaching the refrigerator with fear, praying that it would work. My heart would sink when it didn’t.
Finally, I simplified: we started drinking tap water. Readily available and cold enough, I am amazed at how relaxed and grateful I feel when filling my cup at the sink.
Not every modern thing is a joy-drainer. But when something is depleting us, we need to make adjustments. No thing – especially a created thing – should come between us and God. After all, stuff is temporary.
Your value as a human is not measured by your possessions.
You are not your stuff.
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And because,
I am not promising that God will give you everything you want.
There are times when we want things that God knows would not be good for us.
Joyce Meyer
Yet,
That’s the best reason I know to let go of stuff and lift empty hands to God.
But faith’s bottom line is this,
I need to start talking and acting as though that is true.
Because it is!