Embracing Simplicity: Trusting in God's Provision

We come now to one of the really great spiritual disciplines, simplicity, simplicitate, the great freeing life, the inward reality of focus upon the kingdom of God that brings us into a lifestyle that is free from what we in Penn called Cumber. [00:00:35]

Within all of us there is a whole conglomerate of selves. There is the timid self, the courageous self, the business self, the parental self, the religious self, the literary self, the energetic self. And all these selves are rugged individualists, no bargaining or compromise for them. Each one screen. [00:01:07]

If a decision is made to spend a relaxed evening listening to music, the business self and the civic self rise up in protest at the loss of precious time. The energetic self paces back and forth, impatient and frustrated, and the religious self reminds us of all the lost opportunities for study or evangelistic endeavor. [00:01:40]

But when we experience life at the center, all is changed. Our many selves come under the unifying control of the divine arbitrator. No longer are we forced to live by an inner-majority rule, which always leaves a disgruntled minority. The divine yes or no settles all minority reports. [00:02:28]

The quiet evening can be enjoyed to the fullest because our many selves have been stilled by the holy within. The business self, the religious self, the energetic self, all are at peace, because they know that we are living in obedience. [00:02:55]

Trust, you see, is at the heart of that inward reality of simplicity. If what I have I can receive as a gift, and if what I have I know is not mine to hold on to, and if what I have can be available to others when it's clearly right and good, then I'm living in that inward life of simplicity. [00:05:27]

This idea of trust really came home to me with our children when they were very young. Our boys loved to eat pancakes. And every now and then on a Saturday morning, I'd get up early and fix them a batch of pancakes. And it was always interesting to watch them wolf down pancakes. [00:06:15]

I mean, it was like there was an endless supply. I never saw them once stuffing pancakes into their pockets, saying, well, I'm not sure about Dad. I don't know if there'll be any pancakes tomorrow, you see. They weren't worried about the price of eggs or milk or anything. They lived in trust. [00:06:30]

I had an experience when I was living in the Pacific Northwest that reminded me so much of this trust-filled living. There was a lady in the southern part of the state that would come up to the northern part because she wanted to learn a little bit about listening prayer but she also she was a social worker. [00:07:00]

She would invite me to come down to her city to do a teaching on healing prayer now she did not mean physical healing that actually would have frightened her she meant emotional and would say all hell and there's plenty of people in your city that you know can do this you don't need me. [00:07:13]

But you know she was like the woman before the unjust judge you know she just kept at it and so finally I said to her Helen look let's take the idea of my coming to your city as a little project in prayer itself you go home don't share anything with anybody let's just pray about it. [00:07:44]

Three days later, she calls me. Twelve people have asked for this experience. I said, okay. Down we came. They were all social workers. About 15, I think, finally gathered in a home. So it was an extended connections that she had. [00:08:25]