Kingdom EncountersSample
God (alone) is your Source. You only have one Source. As simple as that sounds, it is life transforming when you truly understand it. You cannot have multiple sources. Anything outside God is a resource. It is not a source. It’s merely a vehicle of provision. The grocery store is not your source. It’s merely a resource you go to. They don’t make the food. They sell the food. It’s not your source. It’s a channel through which you get something rather than the origination of the something you get.
Whenever you treat a resource as though it were the source, you have made it an idol. For some people, their job is an idol. Or their bank account is an idol. Even their contacts can be an idol. Or their education. Whatever is viewed or relied on as a source other than God instantly becomes an idol.
God is your Source. And until you establish that principle in your heart and mind as truth, you will always be controlled by either the presence or absence of a resource. Because when your resources go left on you, or your friends go left on you, or your health goes left on you, you will succumb to worry, doubt, dread, and despair. But when you recognize God as your one and only Source, circumstances do not have to ultimately dictate your emotions or actions.
One reason this truth is so important, and why it’s so freeing for me personally, is that when you come to understand and believe it, you will no longer be controlled by anyone or anything. No one can own you. If God is your Source and your resources turn sour, you are still not controlled because you were never depending on your resources to begin with. They were merely a mechanism through which God was choosing to provide. But God has a million mechanisms, and then some, through which He can provide. He used a raven to feed His prophet Elijah, after all, and ravens were even classified as “unclean” birds in Israelite culture (1 Kings 17:2–16). God doesn’t need our permission to use whatever resource He chooses to. Which is also why it’s never wise to box God into our own understanding. He can hit a bull’s-eye with a crooked stick. His ways are higher than ours. His provision can often come through unexpected and unknown channels.
We hope you have enjoyed this 7-day reading plan with Dr. Tony Evans from his book Kingdom Encounters. To read more, visit moodypublishers.com.
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About this Plan
Dr. Tony Evans identifies kingdom encounters as powerful moments when we connect with God beyond information and through experience. In Kingdom Encounters, Dr. Evans explores how the faithful characters of Scripture encountered God—and were forever changed. As we see in the lives of these characters, these moments often occur in the middle of conflicts and trials when we least expect it.
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