Borrowed Donkeys

I wonder about the future. Ok, so I worry. God is curing me of worry though. I repent of it often and He turns me back to keeping my eyes on His greatness. His great provision. His great faithfulness. His great unfailing love. His great plans to give me a future and a hope. Hope that is sure. Yes, let God tell the truth, and every man be a liar…..God keeps His promises, and He has promised to take care of me! He has promised me that I am His, and He takes great care of His stuff. He has proven Himself o’er and o’er! He has done miracles in my life, and I choose to dwell on all He has done, and continues to do, instead of the future “unknown.” No matter what that unknown turns out to be, God is there. He never leaves me. Oh, I am so grateful for that!

As I ponder my fears, I see that they are most times tied to “stuff,” lack of “stuff,” and the potential loss of “stuff.” (STUFF—-> House, job, security, college funds for my kids, retirement $$$) Then Jesus brought to my mind that He didn’t have “stuff.” He did not own a home. He did not get a paycheck. He did not save for retirement. When He needed transportation, he walked…..or borrowed a boat or a donkey. When He needed a place to hang with His friends, he borrowed the Upper Room. He did not have the Dave Ramsey “emergency” fund or 6 mos of salary saved up in a bank. Matter of fact, Jesus said not to store up stuff for yourself here on earth, where it can be taken or destroyed. He tells me to set my sights on something different, just like He did. He was constantly concerned with The Kingdom, and in Matt. 6:33 He tells me to do that too. Put God, all His ways of doing and being, put that first, and God will meet all my practical needs. Geesh, all the time God meets needs I don’t even know I have!

My question is: what does this practically look like? How do I, on a day by day basis, put His Kingdom first? My sister Jill told me once (I was still in FL and I was freaking out over stuff) “Just be about what Jesus is about. People. Love. Truth. Service. He was never about stuff.” That is perhaps the best practical explanation I’ve ever heard. Very wise bit of advice that my baby sis gave me, off the cuff. It has stuck with me. I think of it often. I want to live like that, for real.