Genesis 35:12 “The land I gave to Abraham and Isaac I also give to you, and I will give this land to your descendants after you.”

It never really struck me before how temporary almost all gifts are. God gave the same land to Abraham, then to Isaac, then to Jacob, then to Jacob’s descendants. None of them continued to possess it, because they died. The same can be said of everything we have in this life, simply because this life isn’t forever. For a gift to be eternal, both the gift and the recipient have to be eternal, and that narrows the field immensely! Life in Christ is eternal, and the things that come with it are eternal, because once we have received eternal life, the love, joy, and all the rest cannot be taken away from us. Everything else is strictly temporary. Job had the right idea when he said, “The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised.” Everything belongs to God, and when He gives us things they are indeed ours to do with as we please, but we are responsible to Him for it all, because actual ownership still resides with Him. The more clearly and firmly we grasp that, the less stress we will have about all the things we usually think of as ours.

This is extremely applicable to me right now. I have experienced a lot of stress the past few days over my computer situation, but I haven’t lost any data that I’m aware of, and God is still God. This morning when I came back to bed after a bathroom visit at 4, I wasn’t sure Cathy was alive, and the thought of that woke me up thoroughly. I am very thankful for my wife, and for the overwhelming abundance of other things the Lord has provided for me, but I must hold it all lightly, remembering that God is the owner and I am the steward, and He retains full rights to everything. Humanly speaking, that’s not always pleasant to think about, as I experienced this morning. However, my faith and trust need to grow to the point that nothing will shake me, because I know that God’s plans are always good, and I belong to Him.

Father, thank You indeed for Your overwhelming grace. Help me receive it all as I should, hanging on to nothing but Christ, allowing You to use me and the things You have placed in my hands as You please, for Your pleasure and glory. Thank You. Praise God!