Ever feel like God doesn’t give a flip about what you are experiencing?

Of course, we all go through times where we pray and do our best to walk the walk of faith but it seems that our needs and desires are ignored by God.

I’m not going to do a Bible study here on the book of Job, the trials and tribulations of the apostle Paul or the prophet Jeremiah. I just wanted to take a minute and talk about God’s economy.

Economy is based on value. Human beings tend to value tangible things or things that we interact with :

• Money
• Time
• Health
• Fun
• Family

We know by reading Scripture that God’s economy is based on some other things such as:

Love 

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves is born of God, and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 1 John 4:7-8 ESV

Justice, Kindness, Humility

He has told you, O Man, what is good;

What does the LORD require of you

But to do justice, love kindness,

And walk humbly with your God. Micah 6:8 ESV

We need stuff, we need health, we need time. But sometimes, in God’s economy, what He appears to be valuing is something different than what we value.

Take for instance: The Story of Lots of Stress vs the Crickets.

There are lots of stressors in my life. Everyone has lots of stressors. What I’d like is for God to intervene and change the stressors. It seems logical to me that if God loved me, He would fix the tough circumstances, right? Easing the difficult things is an important value, in my opinion.

What I know from years of experience is that God is working in HIS economy and giving me gifts from HIS economy. His economy is different from mine. In His opinion, the things that have value are:

• His grace
• Some tangible things (not all the things I feel I need or want)
• AND the beauty of the world around me. For instance: Right now it is August. In August where I live the crickets and cicadas sing ALL day long- loudly! In the early morning, the sun comes up all golden through a mist over the farm fields with the cricket and cicada songs at an almost deafening din.

In God’s economy, the crickets’ songs are more valuable than what I feel I genuinely need. God is abundantly giving me the more valuable things.

I wonder what it would look like if I could see God’s version of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs? (Maslow’s hierarchy defines needs going up a scale from physiological needs, to safety needs, to love and belonging needs, to esteem needs, and capping at self-actualization needs. We can’t truly proceed well to the next need if our lower need isn’t met.)

I wonder if God’s hierarchy of needs for us looks more like:

God’s love for us needs, to grace for daily living needs, to gifts of beauty needs, to giving/sacrifice/justice needs, to fruit of the spirit needs, and capping at worship needs.

I know God cares about the more tangible things, too, but in a different way than I do.

My job is to change my values. I can recognize my needs and wants. They have value, but in God’s economy, not as much value as the crickets’ songs.

In God’s economy the cicadas and the crickets are what are important. Those are his gifts to me.

God gives a flip and He gives gifts…gifts that He values from His economy. If I can tweak my values a little to notice His, then maybe it will strengthen me for the trails of the present.