IF I ONLY HAD...

I have recently started So Long Insecurity by Beth Moore. The chapter I read yesterday made mention of some"false positives" we carry around with us. You know them. They are the one thing or one area where we believe if we could just get that (or get it right) we would be secure and set in everything else. Must admit I have a couple of those.
At the same time I am reading about Solomon. The man had it all. Money, fame, favor of the Lord, adoration of his kingdom and other kingdoms. The dude was set. Yet it was not enough to keep him focused on God. He still turned from the God who had personally visited him twice.
He still turned to other gods.
My " false positives" are just like the gods Solomon chased. They can no more bring me security than, well, anything. It does not matter how much I have or don't have, the only security I can count on, that I can cling to, is found in Jesus Christ. What my false positives can do is turn my eyes from the God who loves me. They can make me blind to all the things I do have, all the things the Lord has been gracious to me with.
As I was reflecting after reading today I just kept picturing myself going back to Jesus daily saying " My security is in You". Not just about money, a job, or material things but in relationships as well. When I see someone at work promoted and I wonder why not me. When I see someone serving in the ministry in a manner I want to or would like to at least try. When I see someone with friendships like I want. Whatever it is, my security has to rest in Christ and in Christ alone. I have to trust that He has a plan, knows the plan, will execute the plan and that it is a good plan. That is what will make me secure.
For me, I will have to be purposeful about it.
I will have to choose each day.
I may even have to be audible in it.
Repeatedly.
I will have to, daily, be deliberate in my choice to be secure in and with Him.
After all, He was and is deliberate in delivering me.

THE TEMPLE

I have been reading about the temple Solomon built for the Lord. The great detail with which everything was made. The great detail that is recorded in the book of 1 Kings and in 2 Chronicles. How every little thing was planned for and designed by God. Even the smallest thing. I often wonder why God had the specifics recorded with such great accuracy. Why do I need to know how many cubits the vestibule was or how each cart was made?
I think one of the reasons why is that we don't forget we serve the God of details, even the smallest ones. Yes He sees the big picture, but that doesn't overshadow the details. He is all about the details.
1 Corinthians 3:16 reminds us that we are the temple of the Spirit of God. Just as God planned for and designed the very details of Solomon's temple, He has planned for and designed the details of you. From that freckle that you hate to those dimples you love, He has cared for them all. He sees the big picture He has for us physically, mentally , emotionally and spiritually, but don't think for a second He has left the details for you to work out. He hasn't. He is on top of each and everyone of them. Are we co-laborers in building our temple? You bet, just as Solomon was with his temple. But we are not left to sort out the details on our own. He has the specifics. He has a plan.
A plan that is for your good.
Because you and I were deliberately delivered.
And that is a detail we must not overlook.
Be blessed dear ones.