Our Provider
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| "Consider the lilies how they grow: they toil not, they spin not; and yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all of His glory was not arrayed (clothed) like one of these." Luke 12:27 |
Do you ever worry
about your finances? How are we going to pay this bill? How are we going to do
this or that? Good question! When you are living in a moment of worry it is
very hard to think that there is any positive aspect to it. Am I right? So
let's talk about our regular everyday struggles and see where God leads us.
Everything Is Falling Apart!
The past month seems
like everything in our house has been breaking. It's just one thing after the
next. First our garbage disposal broke. Old, soggy food kept coming back up in
our sink (disgusting I know). Next, the faucet is leaking, and all of the water
is getting in our cabinet space directly underneath. We have cleaning supplies
scattered everywhere on our kitchen floor, because we don't want them to get
drenched with water. Next, our washer is broke. To be more exact the knob on
the washer is not working and it will not go on the spin cycle. So, you have to
stand there trying to hold a pen in the knob just right for it to work
properly. Talk about being frustrated! All of this is going to cost a fortune
to replace/fix. What, do all of the appliances in your house have a meeting and
decide the break in the same week?! Of course you are going to be upset. How
could you not?
BILLS, BILLS, AND MORE
BILLS!
With everything
breaking down seemingly at the same time you wonder, "how in the world am
I going to afford all of this?" You have bills! Everyone's financial
situation is different. Some are sitting large while others are trying to stay
afloat. It's hard trying to stay ahead, because there is always something that
requires your hard earned money. You have to pay for groceries, electric,
water, trash, cars, mortgages, credit cards, insurance, etc. If you have kids
then you have to worry about buying them new clothes and shoes because they
either are growing way to fast that your wallet can't keep up; or they are so
clumsy that they keep ruining everything you buy. With kids comes school
tuition. What if your health is suffering? You have hundreds of dollars you owe
in medical bills. What if your car breaks down? Depending on what the issue is
you owe hundreds of dollars toward that.
All of these things are very few examples compared to the thousands of ways
our money is spent. The point is where is the good in these challenges we face?
The mere thought of it all is overwhelming. We only earn a certain amount of
income. We can only do so much. What do you do?
Here Is The Good News!
What do you do?
NOTHING! PRAISE GOD! RING THE BELLS AND SHOUT IT ON THE ROOFTOPS! We don't have
to do anything other than trust God. You may be reading this and think,
"that's a challenge within itself. I cant do that." Oh, but you can.
The problem is choosing to trust God or not. It's a choice not an inability. I
struggled so bad with trusting God for a big portion of my life. Through my
understanding I found it hard to let things go and let God take care of the
situation when I never knew the outcome. I wanted to see the blueprints of my
life and know exactly what to expect. I was scared that God wouldn't answer my
need the way that I wanted Him too or not answer at all. You see we are the
problem. We want things done a certain way. Our way. If God doesn't answer we
feel betrayed. Right? Believe me I know how it is because I used to live my
life this way. That's why its good to re-examine ourselves through the Word and
where we stand. You learn a lot about yourself and even more about God. This
will be a shocking statement (it was for me when I heard it) so you might wan
to sit down for this. You ready? If we knew every detail about our future or
knew every plan God had for us then there would be no point to having faith.
Faith is putting trust or confidence in someone or something. It makes you
dependent. This is when we have to realize we are human. We are limited. If we
can relate to any of the examples above regarding financial strain, then we
know we can't do it all. We are easily overwhelmed. The good news is we have
Someone to put our faith in. Someone greater and more able than we are. I don't
want to be stressed out. I don't want to worry about what I am going to do. How
am I going to pay for this? How and when am I going to get what I need?
Consider The Ravens:
Well, there is no
reason for me to worry according to the Word. Luke 12 will always be a good
reminder that God takes care of our needs. Verse 22 says, "take no thought
for your life, what ye shall eat; neither for the body, what ye shall put on."
Jesus says that the life is more important than food and the body more than
clothes. If we keep reading in Luke chapter 12 we see that Jesus makes some
profound points. Have we ever considered a bird? We see birds all the time
flying in the air, pecking away on the streets. Have we ever seen them build a
barn? Have we ever seen them buy some seeds and go find a field to sow those
seeds in the ground to gather them around harvest time? No I can't say that I
have. I have never seen any kind of bird produce their own food. All they have
to do is fly where they please and chow down on some worms or if they are more
picky they can enjoy some delicious birdseed from us. They don't have to work
for it. They especially love rainy days because it makes finding worms or other
things much easier for them. God provides for them and Jesus asks us in verse
24, "how much more are ye better than the fowls?"
Consider The Lilies:
Verse 27 says,
"Consider the lilies how they grow: they toil not, they spin not; and yet
I say unto you, that Solomon in all of his glory was not arrayed like one of
these." I have never seen a lily spin some thread to make an outfit for
itself; yet they are clothed in beauty. They are pleasing to look at. If we
read 1 Kings 10 and 2 Chronicles 9 we can understand the significance of verse
27. There was no body, besides God Himself, that was wiser than King Solomon.
Both 1 Kings and 2 Chronicles records his riches and fame in detail. 2
Chronicles 9:22- 23 says, "And king Solomon passed all the kings of the
earth in riches and wisdom. And all the kings of the earth sought the presence
of Solomon, to hear his wisdom, that God put in his heart." Could you
imagine meeting a man like this? He was greater than any person in authority
that we have ever known; and Jesus says that a lily is clothed in more glory
and riches than this great king was. "If then God so clothe the grass, which
is today in the field, and tomorrow is cast into the oven; how much more will
he clothe you, O ye of little faith?" We have more value than the flowers,
the grass, the trees, the birds of the air; and God cares for each one. They
don't worry they just that their need will be provided, because unlike us they
know who their Creator is. They don't question. They don't reason. They just
trust in God. They take Him at His Word and they move on with their lives.
"O ye of little faith," where is our confidence? King Solomon says,
"the LORD shall be thy confidence" (Proverbs 3:26). Our God is more
than able to "supply all your need according to his riches in glory in
Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:19). So why do we worry? Let's look at a few
examples of how God provides in tough situations.
Jehovah- Jireh:
Jehovah- Jireh means
the LORD will provide. We are first introduced to this name in Genesis 22 when Abraham was commanded to offer his son
Isaac as a sacrifice. God only commanded this as a test for Abraham, but he didn't
know that. As they journeyed to Mount Moriah Isaac asked his father,
"where is the lamb for a burnt offering?" (v. 7) And Abraham replied,
"God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering" (v. 8). We
know the story God was pleased with Abraham and stopped him from going any
further. However, they still needed a sacrifice. God provided. Abraham looked
behind him and saw a ram with his horns caught in a thicket. It wasn't there
before. God supplied the need.
Let's look at
another example in Exodus 15 and 16. The children of Israel were wandering in
the hot, dry, desert with nothing to drink. They came to a place called Marah
and could not drink of the water because it was bitter. They cried to God for
help, they laid their need at His feet and He answered. He showed them a tree.
This is not the answer they were probably expecting. I can relate. Many times I
think God should provide for my need by doing some great miracle every time.
God hides Himself in simplicity and I forget. He answered them by providing a
tree. This tree, when they tossed it into the water, it made it sweet so that
they could drink it. Exodus 16 they cried for food because they were hungry.
They had nothing! They cried out to God and He provided. God rained bread and
quail from heaven to feed them.
1 Kings 17 Elijah
was commanded by God to dwell by the brook Cherith. Elijah had nothing. Verse 4
says, "And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have
commanded the ravens to feed thee."
WHAT?! Elijah had no food but God made sure that the birds brought him
food so that he never went hungry. They gave him bread and meat in the morning
and bread and meat in the evening. Elijah didn't have to worry about what he
was going to eat each day. If we keep reading we see that God provided food for
someone else who had none. A widow and her son. She had nothing to eat in the
house and they were at the point of death, but God provided. He sent her Elijah
and Elijah spoke the Word and her food never ran out until the drought was
over.
The whole Bible is
one big example of how God provides. Let's look at a more modern example. Have
you heard of George Mueller? I'm sure most of us have. If not I will provide a
link about his life story below. George Mueller knows all about how God provides.
One story in particular is when Mueller had an orphanage for 300 children and
yet no way to provide for them. Mueller and his fellow caretakers of the
orphanage would wake every morning and have all the children sit and the table
for breakfast. Except, there was no breakfast. What I like about Mueller is
that he acted like the pantry was full of goodies. He would just sit down and
thank God for the food He provided and wait. Not long after the baker would
knock on his door and give him bread. Why? The baker couldn't sleep so he got
up and baked bread assuming that the kids would need it. A few minutes later
the milk man knocked on the door. His truck broke down and the milk would
spoil. He doesn't want all that milk to waste so he gave it to Mueller and the
kids. All of it was plenty to provide for the 300 children. There is our
Jehovah- Jireh! All of it was God, there is no question about it.
Let's Change Our Mindset:
Admit it, our old
ways are not working. So we should change them. With the help of God we need to
change our way of thinking when all of these frustrations that we face appear.
When we come before God we need to come with a thankful heart. Yes, things are
crazy now but we still are blessed. There are things we can thank God for.
There are things we can still be content with that God has already done. So, we
should be careful not to let a broken washer take away our worship. We should
not let a low bank account take away our worship. God gave His life for us. We
do not need nice things or anything for that matter in order to praise Him for
saving us. Yeah, we need these things but God knows that already. Why do we
worry? Has it gotten us anywhere? No. It's only brought more stress and
exhaustion to us. We focus on the problem too much, and we should realize by
now that us focusing on the problem isn't fixing it. It is the same as me
staring at my washer getting more and more angry as the time goes by because
it's not fixed. I'm wasting my time doing that. We should focus on the positive
side. There's a positive side? Yes there is. The positive side is very simple.
Pray. Trust. Walk On. When we pray God says in Mark 11:24, "therefore I
say unto you, what things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye
receive them (like George Muller), and ye shall have them." When we trust
Him we should keep this in mind, "with men it is impossible; but with God
ALL things are possible" (Matthew 19:26). There is nothing too hard for
God and He has never given us a reason not to put our confidence in Him.
Finally, walk on. We have done all that we can do so we need to just walk on
from the problem and continue on worshiping God; because all of these things
that go wrong does not diminish that we are still saved through the Blood of
Christ. It doesn't take away the value of Jesus' sacrifice on the cross. It
doesn’t make us any less a child of God that will one day be out of here! Just
think there is coming a day when we won't have to deal with another broken
washer. PRAISE GOD! There is a life awaiting us were we won't have to pay
another bill. PRAISE GOD! We should not ever let these small things ruin our
days. Next time we are in need of anything and all seems hopeless, let's
consider the lilies of the field and the birds of the air. Remember, "your
Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him" (Matthew
6:8). God Bless You.
About George
Mueller:
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