a camel through the eye of a needle

The other day, I read through the story in the gospels (Matthew 19:23-30, Mark 10:23-31, and Luke 18:24-30) about how difficult it is for a rich man to enter the Kingdom. I read through it thinking, "OK, well that's not me, so what insights can I gain from these passages?" Sadly, I came up with nothing. Today, these stories caught my eye again, and immediately, I had the same thought, "Ya, I'm not rich!"

But God challenged me saying, "Yes, Jenelle, you are rich!"

Immediately, I remembered countless statistics about how even the poorest American is richer than much of the world. The average bum in America eats better than middle-class citizens in other parts of the world. Just because I am not rich compared to those immediately surrounding me does not mean I am not rich.

A couple points to consider...

1. Compared to much of the world, I make more money in a few hours than they can make in a month.
   
2. When I consider my current "needs," the list looks something like this: shoes (sure, the ones I have are falling apart, but I still have several!), headphones (gotta have something to listen to songs on my new mp3 playing cell phone, right!?), a dressy coat (heaven forbid I wear my "casual" jacket to work even though it does its job and keeps me warm), a DVD player (it's too much work to move the one from the other room into my bedroom and I don't like leaving my laptop on all night when I fall asleep to a movie on it). Come on! I have no real needs!
3. And this is the kicker... When is the last time I had no choice but to depend on God because I was unable to meet my own needs...or even the needs of those around me? Uh...can't think of one. Sure, I must depend on God for emotional and spiritual needs, but those are so much less tangible - and much more easily scraped under the rug and forgotten about.
   

I AM the rich man (or woman) Jesus spoke about. I AM my provision. I AM the solution to most of my problems. I AM... No wonder it is so difficult for me to depend on Him in the less tangible things! I haven't learned to do it in the things I can touch and see and smell.

Lord, teach us to depend on you as whole-heartedly as those who have no option. Help us to treasure your provision and not our own. Help us to determine our needs based on your priorities and not our own perception. Save us from our self-sufficiency that we may know your complete sufficiency.