Trust Your G(g)od

 

And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek you. Psalm 9:10

A woman who has retired from a welfare office was talking about the abuse of the system she worked in. She also lamented that whereas the people on welfare added children because it meant a bigger “paycheck,” she stopped at one because she and her husband were afraid of the cost of raising more children.

She is a born again Christian now. She was not then.

My husband and I made a similar decision. We stopped at two thinking the cost would be great in money and time. We wanted to be able to give our children all we could. We were not Christians then, either.

The retired welfare worker and I both regret our decisions not to have more children. But, it wasn’t until the conversation with her that I saw the lack of faith those decisions exposed.

A woman on welfare has made the state, who gives her money, her god. If she adds children, they increase the paycheck. She doesn’t worry about how she will buy food or pay for education. She trusts the state will provide for her. They have done it in the past and she trusts them with her future.

As young married people my retired friend and I made our money our god. We wanted to hold onto as much as we could. Neither of us, at that time, were willing to trust God with our future and the futures of any children He might have given us.

I was one of six children. I saw God’s faithfulness for years. I know I never missed a meal and those of us who wanted a college education, got one. I didn’t see it as God’s provision then, but I do now. We never lived without heat (though it was chilly a lot!) or water. We owned our own home. We wore a lot of hand-me-downs but we were always protected from the elements.

God had been faithful to us. I just hadn’t seen it. My husband and I now regret not having a quiver full.

God says that children are a blessing. He wants our quivers to be full of them. Psalm 37:5 tell us to, “Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him, and he will act.”

Do you trust God to provide for you if you allow yourselves to break the cultural norm of 2.1 children per family?  Will you be fruitful and multiply so that you join those who intend to grow the Kingdom of God right here on earth?