05
Neither Poverty nor Riches
Tim Savage7O God, I beg two favors from you;let me have them before I die.
8First, help me never to tell a lie.
Second, give me neither poverty nor riches!
Give me just enough to satisfy my needs.
9For if I grow rich, I may deny you and say, “Who is the Lord?”
And if I am too poor, I may steal and thus insult God’s holy name. Proverbs 30
11Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for he chose us in advance, and he makes everything work out according to his plan.Ephesians 1
19I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power 20that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms. 21Now he is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else—not only in this world but also in the world to come. Ephesians 1
For me this morning there are 2 very important passages, one from Proverbs and the other from Ephesians that spoke loudly to me. I’ll be honest, as we worked to get our movie, Under the Blood Red Sun, finished and out to the public, I allowed myself to sometimes fantasize about the possibilities of it becoming a big hit. Not often, but occasionally, I thought about the money, the Hollywood agent and the offers for bigger films that would come my way, but needless to say, that hasn’t been the case and sometimes I wonder why. After all, it’s a beautiful story of friendship, courage and loyalty and it’s an important lesson in history that all children should see, regardless it’s been a labor of love to find our audience. I know that God could have instantly given it success beyond my wildest dreams, but for some reason He’s decided to go another way. Proverbs 30:9 succinctly states a very real possibility. How many times have I heard about people, even Christians, who have been ruined by wealth. My calling to proclaim His message through my gifts is crystal clear, but would it remain so if a new house, a new car, more movie offers were to come my way? I would be sidetracked and distracted at the very least.
Paul, through his letter to the Ephesians reminds me that the creator of the universe, who is omnipotent and omniscient, makes all things work together for my good. I am frail and I know nothing in comparison to Him. Often, though, I think I’m strong and know more than others. I’m grateful for the reminder that I am nothing and He is everything; it allows me to relax, to give it all up to Him and to have faith only in Him. I am not in control and I shouldn’t want to be. He knows the past, the present and the future – I want Him to control my life, in fact, I would be completely crazy NOT to want Him to control my life. I need to destroy my pride, stop trying to manipulate circumstances to my advantage and grow in my faith in Him.
Dear Heavenly Father,
I’m sorry that I need to be reminded daily to do these things, but I’m thankful for Your love and grace. You know my very best future and I want to comply with Your plan. Thank You for the miracles in my life and for provision beyond my understanding.
In Jesus name,
Amen
