Do the Math

I'm not good with numbers. (Okay, that's a major understatement.) But, I do know that 1 + 1= 2 . . . and things in my life just don't seem to be adding up. 1+1 isn't equaling 2. So, I've been in prayer over it . . . constantly. I know God is into numbers. Remember, He threw out that "seventy times seven" thing. (Boy I hate that Peter asked that question.) Then you've got Jesus "multiplying bread and fish." God calls us to tithe 10%, and He says that seeds sown in the "good soil" return a crop "thirty, sixty, or even one hundred times" what was sown. (Mark 4:20) And Romans 6:23 says that Sin = Death, but Christ = Eternal life. So, I asked God why the math isn't working out in my life . . . and in a dream, I woke up to three words, "Do the Math." 

So, with that, the next day I pondered, all day, what He meant by speaking that into my heart. I went a few days pondering it all, and then while reading a book, I ran across those three little words again, "Do the Math." Now I knew God was speaking to me. It seems I'm calculating wrong. I'm calculating life by what I "see." There's absolutes in how God works, and we can't be fooled by the variables that seem to throw us off. In the equation of life, we get caught up in trying to "solve" the for the variables . . . and with God, there are no variables. God is very clear in Galatians 6:7, "Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, a man reaps what he sows." That's it. It's that simple. 1 + 1 ALWAYS equals 2. We can't be deceived. God works with clear formulas, and the answers are always the same. We take inventory on our mistreatments and life's problems, but we fail to calculate the faithfulness of God.

We tend to calculate our problems without calculating in Christ. Our math is fuzzy when we're looking at the equation without considering God's love, mercy, justice, and faithfulness. We tend to analyze, evaluate, and calculate life without Jesus, and life doesn't seem to add up. But with God, the math is clear. It's as easy as 1+1. 

So, God, once again, has spoken something deeply within my heart. He doesn't want me getting overwhelmed by the test . . . He wants me confident that I've studied and that since He is with me always, there is nothing to fear. He wants me walking confidently forward in faith while He works out the "problems." He's the Teacher, I'm the student, so I think I'll watch as He shows me on the blackboard of my life . . . how He works. He's got a formula, the outcomes are always the same. The formula He uses that always trumps all else is as easy as 1+1 . . . TRUST = BLESSED. And, as with all Math, practice makes perfect . . . I guess God is asking me to trust Him . . . I need to "Do the Math."