January 20: Cross Fit: Financial => No, it doesn't start with the money

Genesis 41:17-42;17

Matthew 13:24-46

Psalm 18:1-15

Proverbs 4:1-6

Financial cross fit.  At Grace Church we are undergoing a Cross Fit training program, that encompasses both the spiritual and the physical.  Here, it looks like God is talking about financial Cross Fit.  What's interesting is that, while today's readings tell us of how God warned Joseph to prepare Egypt financially (well, technically, "grain-ically"), just the other day we read how Jesus instructs the disciples "do not get any gold or silver or copper to take with you in your belts..." What are we to do?

I think the answer isn't in how Joseph prepared, or how the disciples provisioned for their journey.  The answer comes before that - they listened to God.  Both Joseph and the disciples got their instructions directly from our Lord, without any confusion or doubt as to the source and veracity of the message.  Why?  Because they knew Him.  We don't know how Joseph got to know the Lord, but we know that "The Lord was with Joseph and he prospered" (Gen 39:2).  And the disciples - well, while we know they had yet to grasp who Jesus was, they had by this time made a choice to follow Him and, in the following, would have most certainly gotten to know Him somewhat - enough to obey His instructions however, imprudent they may have seemed.

So the key is to get to know whom you would trust - our Lord, in this case.  And they key to that is to spend time with Him.  Think about it: the crowds heard the parables, but those who spent more time with Him - the disciples - they got to hear what the parables meant.  And that brings to mind another lesson, one particularly suited to me: the smaller the group around someone, the better you get to know Him.  A confession:  do you know the day I least spend intimately with God?  Ironically, it is Sunday - the day I wake up a bit late, find myself rushing off to church, then spending time with our Lord in the company of Grace Church.  As good as that is, it just isn't as good as the one-on-one time that has become a habit, a part of my work day.

Not having spent as much time as I could, it isn't surprising I struggle to trust our Lord as fully as I should.  After all, I don't know Him well enough to sing as the psalmist did; I struggle to live like "The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer...in whom I take refuge."  I'd like to, so I need to change that.