Dependently Wealthy

What We Do Have

02/25/2004

I knew a piece was missing, but I could not put my finger on it. Sometimes when this happens, God reveals it to me personally, but not this time. This time, it was revealed through a friend in an answer to my last message entitled, "Independently Wealthy."

The last message I wrote started out like this:

"Are you independently wealthy?"
The question alone brings on a chuckle. I have to answer, "No."
And then I add, "We are independently poor."

Now, by the world's standards, this is true, but in my heart I did not feel poor when I wrote this message. So even as I sent it, it seemed to be missing a part of what I felt deep inside. I knew what that part was when I received this reply from a friend:

"I believe you are not 'independent' at all but 'Dependently Wealthy' in the Lord..."

That was the full truth! That is what God wants us to focus on. Not on our earthly wealth, but on His Heavenly provisions. When the Lord is our Provider, what more do we need?

Each morning right now, I start my day praying the 23rd Psalm back to the Lord. I pray it this way:

Lord, You are my Shepherd
You give me everything I need
You let me rest in green meadows
You lead me beside peaceful streams
You renew my strength
You guide me along right paths,
Bringing honor to Your name

Even when I walk through the valley of death
I don't need to be afraid
Because You are right beside me
Your rod and Your staff comfort and protect me

You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies
You welcome me in as a guest anointing my head with oil
My cup overflows with Your blessings
Surely Your goodness and Your unfailing
love will pursue me all the days of my life,
and I will live in your house forever

How can I feel "poor" when I see all of God's provisions in this one Psalm? How can I count money as my worth when the Lord is my Shepherd and "I shall not want"? When my friend wrote back and enlightened me to the fact that we are "Dependently Wealthy," she hit the nail on the head, so to speak! We are all rich in the things of God as we depend on Him. He is our Provider!

As I was reading through the third chapter of Acts this morning, this point was driven home to me. It is the story of Peter and John arriving at the Temple one afternoon. There is a beggar out front who has been lame from birth. He is carried there each day and put beside the Temple gate so that he can beg from the people going into the Temple.

"When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for some money. Peter and John looked at him intently, and Peter said, 'Look at us!' The lame man looked at them eagerly, expecting a gift. But Peter said, 'I don't have any money for you. But I'll give you what I have. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, get up and walk!'"
Acts 3:3-6

Peter and John were "Dependently Wealthy." They had the best thing in the world to offer to this man, it wasn't money; it was God's healing power!

Then Peter took the lame man by the
right hand and helped him up.
And as he did, the man's feet and anklebones
were healed and strengthened. He jumped up,
stood on his feet, and began to walk! Then,
walking, leaping, and praising God, he
went into the Temple with them.
Acts 3:7-8

That what God has done for us. He has taken Jim and me by the hand and helped us to get back on our feet again emotionally and spiritually. God has strengthened us in our weakness, and we are praising Him!

This is what we have to offer people. This is the "story" God has given us to tell others! This is what He is asking us to do through writing and traveling and whatever else comes across our path on this journey!

It says further down that when the people realized this was the lame beggar, they were "absolutely astounded!" I have witnessed that expression on people's faces when we have talked with them. Some have even been so honest as to put it into words. They have a hard time believing God's healing power in our lives when they look at their own children and try to imagine life without them...

"Independently poor?" I think not! Our hearts are rich with the good things of God. Our hearts are full of His loving kindness. Our hearts were shattered, seemingly beyond repair; then God took us by the "hand" and helped us to our "feet" again.
We are praising Him!

As I sit with others whose hearts have been shattered, I have no jewels to offer them, no trips to the Bahamas, no shopping sprees to New York. What I have to offer them is a story of a heart that is being healed by God. I can offer them the same hope and joy that God is restoring in my life. I desperately want others to know what God has done for me. I don't want anyone to become crippled emotionally because of the damage Satan can inflict on a life!

It can happen so quickly. We are blindsided by life by so many things and we find ourselves in a dark pit, thinking there is no way of escape. We reach out for many things to help us. All I want in this life is for others to know that the True Helping Hand that will reach for ours in that dark pit is God's.
He is the only way of escape.
He is the only way out of our darkness.
He is the only one that will help us back onto our feet again!

The name of Jesus has healed this man-
and you know how lame he was before.
Faith in Jesus' name has caused this
healing before your very eyes.
Acts 3:16

Has anyone out there witnessed this? Do you see these words coming true in your life or in the lives of others? Did you see how "lame" I was? Have you been "lame" also? I want others to know how God heals!! I want others to know that this is not some made-up fairy tale but the true tale of what God can do in a life. I may be stepping out on a limb here, but let's share our stories with others! There are those who have joined us just recently and may think that this has been a cakewalk through grief for us...it has not!

If you send your "comments" to me, I will combine them and send them out to share in a future e-mail with all of you! (It will be anonymous.) We will praise God together and give Him the Glory, giving hope to those who are reaching for that Helping Hand by telling them through all of you what God has done!! I know one friend who told me that around the six-month mark after Phil died, she prayed and told her husband to pray also because it looked like "Diane is losing it." And I wondered if I would...I have not! Thanks for the extra prayers!
That was my lowest point, at six months. That was when the reality hit full force with what the rest of my days on this earth would be missing--my precious child!

Do you want to know how he was healed?
Let me clearly state to you and to all the people
of Israel that he was healed in the name and
power of Jesus Christ from Nazareth, the man
you crucified, but whom God raised from the dead.
Acts 4:9b-10

I have not seen "The Passion of the Christ" yet, but I plan to on Saturday. I talked today with one friend who has seen it, and it is life changing. Jesus is life-changing, that is true. To see a movie about His crucifixion played out in such reality, I cannot even imagine...

Jesus died on the Cross, but He did not remain there. He was taken down, laid in a tomb, and three days later that tomb was empty. God raised Him from the dead. He was healed and the reason for all of that was so that we too can be healed. Sometimes that healing comes on this earth, as with the lame beggar, and sometimes that healing comes as we live out the rest of our eternity in heaven.

"There is salvation in no one else!
There is no other name in all of heaven
for people to call on to save them."
Acts 4:12

The enemy lies to me and tells me to be quiet. He tells me that I should not be so bold in claiming the healing powers of Jesus Christ, especially since my son "died." He tells me that others will think I am crazy, a "Jesus Freak," or that I need to get my feet firmly planted on the ground again before I look like a fool. He causes me to question who I think I am to be making such claims and to be writing about it when I have no degree to do so. Then I read scriptures like this:

The members of the council were amazed
when they saw the boldness of Peter and John,
for they could see that they were ordinary men
who had had no special training.
Acts 4:13

"Ordinary men" with no "special training." What gave them their boldness then? What gave them their love for God's Son?

They also recognized them as men
who had been with Jesus.
Acts 4:13b

Now, I'm not losing it here. I have not walked this earth with Jesus by my side; I have not heard Him speak or felt His touch or dined with Him...
Or have I!?
I sure have! I do every day! I walk through every day with Him, as He lives in my heart. I eat my meals with Him as He blesses my food. I have felt His healing touch on my heart as He mends the broken pieces! I have heard God speak to my heart as clear as a bell at times, and at other times I sense His leading in what I should do in my day.

I HAVE been with Jesus!! He is alive, and He lives in me! I am an ordinary woman with no special training, but I love God's Son because He died for me just as He died for you! Why should I not be bold even when the enemy is telling me to be quiet?

The members of the council sent Peter and John out of the chamber and "conferred among themselves."

"What should we do with these men?" they asked each other.
"We can't deny they have done a miraculous sign, and
everybody in Jerusalem knows about it. But perhaps we
can stop them from spreading their propaganda. We'll
warn them not to speak to anyone in Jesus name again."
So they called the apostles back in and told them
Never again to speak or teach about Jesus.
Acts 4:16-18

Now who do you think was behind all that? The enemy, Satan, of course! He wanted these guys to be quiet! He didn't want the world to hear about the things that Jesus could do, about His healing power! Someone may believe in Jesus if Peter and John were allowed to go on and keep talking about Him!!

The council then threatened them further,
but they finally let them go because they
didn't know how to punish them without
starting a riot. For everyone was praising
God for this miraculous sign-the healing
of a man who had been lame for more
than forty years.
Acts 4:21-22

The enemy does not want this kind of news to get out! Okay, even if God does heal a heart, let's keep it quiet, let's not talk about it, let's go about the rest of our lives like nothing ever happened because if it becomes too well known, others might turn their lives over to the Living God and that would be a threatening thing for the enemy! More souls lost to heaven!! That's not where the enemy wants us to end up!!

When Peter and John were freed, they went and told the other believers what had happened. "Then all the believers were united as they lifted their voices in prayer:" (Acts 4:24) They were seeing the things that King David had said would come true.

"In fact, everything they did occurred according
to your eternal will and plan. And now, O Lord,
hear their threats and give your servants great
boldness in their preaching. Send your healing
power; may miraculous signs and wonders be
done through the name of your holy servant Jesus."
Acts 4:28-30

The enemy had only accomplished in building a stronger faith in this group of believers. They prayed for "great boldness in their preaching." Talk about a plan backfiring!!

I hope the enemy is getting that same message from my life, from our lives together as we travel through the states. What the enemy tried to do--kill, steal and destroy our family, has only caused our faith in God to become stronger and our witness to become bolder and our testimony to be that much more powerful!

There is a new richness to our lives that we never thought possible. We knew it would take a miracle, and that is exactly what happened. We were that "lame beggar" at the Temple gate. The enemy had attempted to cripple us for our whole lives, but God had other plans. He sent His Good News in the form of his Son, Jesus Christ, to heal our broken hearts--to bind up our wounds, and to release us from darkness. He lifted us up so we can walk again! And now He wants us to be bold enough to go out and tell others about the miracle of His healing power!

Yes, we are ordinary people with no special training and not a lot of funds to drop into the hands of a beggar, but as Peter said, "I don't have any money for you. But I'll give you what I have. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, get up and walk!" Acts 3;6

We can share with you about a relationship with our Creator. We can encourage you walk into the church of your choice and fellowship with others who believe in the name of Jesus Christ. We can urge you to open your Bible and read about the promises of God. We can tell you about the healing power that is available to you if your heart is broken, and you too can "walk" again, just as we are learning to.

All the believers were of one heart and
mind and they felt that what they owned
was not their own; they shared
everything they had.
Acts 4:32

The most valuable thing we can share with another person is our faith in the One True God. There is nothing on this earth that even comes close to this priceless gift. When we have that to share, we are the richest people on earth. When we depend on our Father to provide all that we need, we definitely are, "Dependently Wealthy!"

Living our lives in that luxury,

Jim and Diane