Drinking From The Source

In times like these, when the economy is tough and the money is tight, it helps for a little "re-centering" of our perspectives.

For instance, I recently had a run-in with my employer regarding my compensation. I thought we were operating under one understanding (a signed document from the owner is hard to misinterpret), and they thought otherwise. The end result was my losing out on a considerable amount of money I had been counting on. In any economy, it would be tough to handle this, but especially now because of current circumstances, this stung quite a bit more.

My initial reaction was to fight for what was rightfully mine. I knew what I was entitled to, and I wasn't going down without a fight!

But, thankfully, God spoke to me through a couple of much more sound-minded, level-headed and cooler-tempered friends. They challenged whether this was my fight to fight, or not.

This caused me to really seek out what I was supposed to do. What was my role to play? Should I fight, or sit down and wait?

I'll be honest, I didn't want to turn the other cheek. That pre-supposes that you're ready and willing to get hit again - and I clearly wasn't. But I knew I needed to.

As I approached The Throne, I was given an image that I would like to share with you. It profoundly impacted my life, and I hope it will do the same for you. Perhaps it will be helpful to you where you're at and what you're going through right now, or perhaps it may come in handy some day down the road.

The image is of a massive body of water atop a high mountain with many streams pouring out of it. There are streams of all sizes -- from fast, raging whitewater to a slow but constant trickle. There are also dried up creek beds that once carried streams, but are patiently standing by, ready and waiting for their chance to flow once again.

If you follow these streams, you will see them flow in and out of other streams, intermingling and intertwining, feeding off each other as they race down the mountainside.

You will also notice little pools, or eddies, along the different parts of the streams. They are full of life - a world of their own fed by the life-giving flow from the streams.

If you haven't already guessed it, the water symbolizes God's provision for us. He has promised to meet our needs and the water is the fulfillment of that promise. And we are the pools along the way - thriving and existing only off of His provision.

It may follow different paths (one stream may be a paycheck from work, another may be from church or government assistance, or even help from a friend), and they may even take on different forms (money, groceries, clothing, etc) -- but it all comes from the same Source.

This image helped me immensely in my struggle with my employer. See, I was angry and upset when the flow of one stream was reduced -- and because I was so focused on that one, I took my attention off any other streams that may have been ready to increase to make up for the reduced flow of the one.

Once I realized that God will come through on His promise to provide, and that it may not come down the path I am expecting, I was able to let this conflict go. I had a peace because I knew the provision was on it's way, all I had to do was trust... and wait.

I contacted my employer and let them know I had no intentions of fighting any longer. Even though I would be within my rights, it would bring unnecessary tension and cause them painful repercussions that made what I was fighting for seem extremely petty.

I'll be honest, this was extremely difficult for me to do. By nature, I am a grizzly bear when it comes to my family. If you wrong them or harm them in any way, may God have mercy on your soul, because I won't. (God is working on me in this area, so please no comments on this!) But I know it was what I had to do, even if, by turning the other cheek, I was about to get hit again.

But, do you know what happened? The "flow" came through a couple of unexpected streams. A "random" check in the mail, some money from a couple dear friends, some groceries from some other friends. The amount of money I was missing was quickly, and easily, replenished through other paths.

And the best news? The day after I sent the email to my employer, they sent me a response (full of legalese, clearly stating that their change of position was not an admission of guilt or wrong-doing) alerting me that they would compensate me according to my understanding and our original agreement.

So, in the end, once I realize this wasn't my battle to fight and looked at it from a much different perspective, God blessed us by meeting our needs in abundance.

Now, real quick. I need to put a disclaimer in here: I am NOT advocating the whole "Health and Wealth Gospel" here. So PLEASE do not lump me in with lunatics like Joel Osteen.

But, the story - and the stream - doesn't stop there. We are not the final destination of the outpouring from the Source. Far from it. Remember, we are simply pools along the way, and just as we received God's provision flowing through other people upstream from us, there are other people downstream, waiting for our obedience so they can receive their portion from the Source as well. We must not be greedy. We must not build dams in an effort to horde more for ourselves. We must realize we are God's instrument of provision to others.

So I leave you with this simple challenge: When the flow of one stream lightens up, don't freak out and don't get angry - rather sit back and watch which other path it will come from. God is good and promises to meet our needs. Remember, not only has He made us this promise, but He is able to keep it!

And if you, like me, get angry at all the starvation, homelessness and poverty in our world - don't even think for an instant that God isn't coming through on His promises. Instead, His provision has been held up by someone upstream who has decided to build up the walls of their pool in an attempt to fill their storehouses instead of being obedient and blessing others out of their abundance. And we all know, from history, what happens to them.