Tuesday 20 May 2014

The Source And The System

The Source And The System

In the beginning God created the world and all therein (Genesis 1:1).  God is the source of all things.  Nothing was made that wasn’t made through him (Genesis 1:2-3).  God is the Creator of all things.  All things began with and through Him.  He is the Source; the Beginning and the End.

I remember a short time after opening my business I approached the bank for an overdraft.  Business had been slow and we were in the midst of a recession. I had overheads to meet; staff to pay and financial turnover was just not happening quick enough. The bank turned me down; I was refused an overdraft. My staff became concerned...How were we going to cope? But I refused to give up, to be defeated because God had directed me to start my business and I knew that where God lead me He would feed me; Where His Will took me His Grace will keep me, so I spoke with Him, I prayed and fasted; I went back to my Source, The Creator, The Author and Finisher of my journey and waited and He gave me new strength (Isaiah 40:30-31). He provided for me and is still providing for me. My situation was still the same but different.  I saw it not as the world showed me but as God had shown me. In the midst of a recession, when man and the system of this world failed me, God provided for me. He gave me His joy (Nehemiah 8:10b). He sustained me and is still sustaining me.

Too often we look at the world’s system as our provider. We look at man as our helper and sustainer and become comfortable and safe within their provision. We fall foul to the world’s system and believe that if we were to ever lose our connections then our resources will dry up but God’s Word teaches us different. His Word tells us that His well never runs dry (Isaiah 58:11).  When we recognise where our supplies come from and who our source is, we will never be in need.

The things of this world is temporary and mans supply is only as given to him by God (John 3:27).  Man is not able to provide for himself nor do anything without God orchestrating it. We are branches stemming from one tree and without that tree we will wither and die. If a branch is cut from the tree, its source, it cannot survive. Our source is our Creator and without Him we are destined to fail but with Him we have abundant supply (John 15:5-7).

In this world we will face situations that will test our faith; we will feel vulnerable and tired but that’s when God is calling us to come back to Him; to let go and let Him.  He wants to meet our desires and supply our needs. He is saying trust Me I am your source, if you would not rely on the world system and rely on Me I will forever sustain you (Jeremiah 17:5-8).  Stop looking around and start looking up to the hill, that’s where I am (Psalm 121:1-2).  The world and man will continually change but God never changes, He is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow.

The Bible tells us of the story of Peter and the fishermen who had been fishing all night and caught nothing but then along came Jesus and told them what to do, they heard and followed His instructions and was blessed abundantly. They caught more fish than their nets could hold. They were initially relying on their own strength to provide but when their source turned up and they allowed Him to take control of their situation their supply was more than their eyes or ears could believe (1 Corinthians 2:9). God our source is calling on us to let go and let Him.

God is a God of more than enough and He will bless you according to what you can believe in Him for.  He will bless you where others will fail you.  We have all been given a seed of faith and how and where that seed is planted will determine how and where our supply comes from (Matthew 13).  God is our source and if we plant our seed faith in its source it will bear good fruit. It will not wither and die but will be forever sustained. 

God takes delight in us when we delight in Him. Just for meditating on His law He will bless us (Psalm 1:2-3). He is our source of strength and provision (Habakkuk 3:18-19).

The world will tell you there isn’t enough; you won’t make it; the future looks bleak; there is no provisions but God, our source will say, go on your way, eat the fat, drink the water and bless others as I have blessed you (Nehemiah 8:10a).

Gods supply is limitless; the world is limited. With God as your source your supply will be endless (Philippians 4:19)

Just as sap flowing through the branches of a vine will cause them to bring forth fruit, Gods life flowing through you will bring forth a bountiful harvest of provision, healing and miracles. You only need to remain conscious of who your source is and who you are in Christ.

How do you get fed?  Who is your source?