Luke 12:13-21 NLT
Then someone called from the crowd, “Teacher, please tell my brother to divide our father’s estate with me.” Jesus replied, “Friend, who made me a judge over you to decide such things as that?” Then he said, “Beware! Guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own.” Then he told them a story: “A rich man had a fertile farm that produced fine crops. He said to himself, ‘What should I do? I don’t have room for all my crops.’ Then he said, ‘I know! I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones. Then I’ll have room enough to store all my wheat and other goods. And I’ll sit back and say to myself, “My friend, you have enough stored away for years to come. Now take it easy! Eat, drink, and be merry!”’ “But God said to him, ‘You fool! You will die this very night. Then who will get everything you worked for?’ “Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God.”
This is a very challenging time that we are facing. People out of work, social distancing, a virus that can be carried for weeks before any symptoms show up and when it does, can end up killing you. It’s pretty scary.
There is not a human being alive who has experienced anything quite like this.
And as we move through this, we start to see the areas in our lives where we may have been able to prepare better.
If most were honest, I don’t think that the focus is not on the deadly nature of this virus, but the focus is on the effects that this is happening on our daily lives, the economy, and so forth.
Most of us would prefer that we go back to business as usual.
But that is not God’s plan for us.
Jesus said, “Beware! Guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own.”
In this parable, Jesus tells a story of a man who, by all appearances, seemed to be doing well. Well enough that he thought it important enough to build bigger barns to hold his “stuff.”
His thinking was that he could simply store it up, sit back, and live a life of ease. “Eat, drink, and be merry!”
But God had other plans for this gentleman and that very evening, he died.
And his “stuff” simply went to the next in line.
As this started to happen and things started to change, it was and remains very uncomfortable because of the things around us that are changing daily and by the hour. This thing is so fluid that something that seemed to be normal an hour ago is now different. Something that seemed to be operating normally is no longer operating the same way because they had to shut down because someone there was infected.
And we continue to fixate on the constantly changing things, then we will continue to be up and down with every change that happens, and they are changing fast.
God does not want us to be unsure; He wants us to be fixed on Him. And God is the only thing that has not changed through this whole event. And what we fix our minds during this is the most important thing we need to control.
Matthew 7:24-27 NLT
“Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock. But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.”
When we fix our minds on the things that Jesus taught us and live our lives according to these principles, it doesn’t mean our lives will be without challenge, but it does mean that we will face challenges with hope and confidence things will work out.
Romans 8:28 NLT
And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.
God has always wanted that our focus is on Him, right now, not living for some moment in the future when everything is just so according to the way we think they should be.
Matthew 22:36-40 NLT
“Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?” Jesus replied, “‘You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”
As for me, this is where I am going to start right now, right in the middle of the most uncomfortable situation that I have ever faced.
I am going to love God and love others.
Heavenly Father, thank You for Your Word. Let it be the solid foundation that I live my life on.
Help me stay focused on Your Word, let it affect my mind, my attitudes, and what I do.
I pray for this world, and I pray that You have mercy on us, that You heal us, and I am confident that You are at work, and at the end of all of this, You will be glorified.
I pray for our leaders; I pray that You give them the wisdom to do what needs to be done. According to Romans 13, all governing authority is placed there by Your sovereign hand. Give us the strength and courage to submit to that authority knowing the only time that we are not to submit is when we are told we can not worship You.
In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray in His Holy Name, Amen!! 🙏❤️
