God is Still There For Us Even When We Have Unexpected Surprises

Isn’t it great how God is still there for us even when we have unexpected surprises in our lives? My husband and I were hit with one such surprise two days ago when we got our taxes done.

We own a cleaning business, which doesn’t show much of a profit because we have employees and other expenses that bring the income from the business quite low. We also, both, work at a  retail/grocery store and get better than normal wages.

In the past I was able to claim both our daughters for the credit related to having kids, I don’t remember the accurate name for that. This year, 2012, I have a daughter that turned 24 during the latter part of the year so I knew I wouldn’t be able to claim her any longer. I thought, though, that I’d still be able to claim my younger daughter.

I think what threw me off was because law were changed for coverage for insurance plans. Now, children can be covered until they turn 26 whether they live with you or not or whether they are in school full-time or not.  This is not the same rule for the child care credit.

My younger daughter did not attend college for a minimum of five months this year, so we are not able to claim her as a dependent at all even though we pay most of her support.

Therefore, instead of getting the three to four thousand dollars we were counting on to help make it through the rest of the winter, since we do not clean many windows in the winter in Michigan, we are getting just under five hundred dollars.

Part of that is my own fault in another way also. I changed my withholding for the year because I opted for a high-deductible health plan which was more expensive monthly than I anticipated. This year even though I made about the same amount as last year, just a bit more than half of the amount from the year before was held from our federal income tax.

This awful news almost made me depressed. I about wanted to cry on someone’s shoulder. I’d like to say that after talking to my husband, I gathered with God and Jesus Christ to let them commiserate with me; but, to be honest, it took me two days after hearing the news to do that.

I will say that I have been listening to a Christian channel on the radio, and I know that has helped me a lot before and after finding this out.

I have encouraged many people before that no matter how dim your life may seem, God is always there to help you keep from floundering in the muck and mire of this world.

I decided to read the book of Phillippians this morning. I was reminded once again of  the section in Chapter 4 verse 6. In the King James Version it reads: Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.

The word careful in this verse is Old English for anxious. We are to be anxious for nothing. When I was reading this, this morning, I prayed for God to help me try to not be anxious for anything. I then thought, wait a minute; God is not asking me to try not to be anxious, but he is basically commanding me not to be anxious. So if he is telling me to be anxious for nothing, then I guess it must be available. He would never ask or expect us to do something that we couldn’t do.

How are we supposed to be anxious for nothing? The neat thing about God is that he doesn’t leave us to figure it all our for ourselves. He tells us how to do it and it’s right in this verse.

Phil 4:6b: but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.

Again, this seems like an impossibility. But is it? Who is telling us to handle pressure this way? God! Does God lie? No! Well then, I’d say this isn’t an impossibility. Now you might ask, how well do I do with this verse? I’d have to say, that there is always room for improvement. If I had been where I’d like to be with this verse, then I would have been tuned in with God right away.

I’m not saying I went and got drunk or something, I just didn’t drive myself to the word for my answers which is something I’d like to get better at.

I did remember to praise God the next day, but I’ve gotten out of the habit of doing that daily so much so, that I’ve forgotten all the different and various ways I’ve already studied that I can praise God.

I did re-read the last Psalm this morning and was reminded that I can praise him for what he has created, for the beauty that is all around us, for family, for friends, for my job, for financial prosperity-right now, that looks far away, but God says it’s within reach.

I need to put my pedal to the metal, so to speak, and get in gear with God and his word, for with God all things are possible.

Bless you all and thanks for reading.

 

Related articles

• No Worries Mate! (faithrises.com)
• “Am I a Worry-er, or a Pray-er” (rickstakeongod.wordpress.com)