September 20, 2022
When you put your faith in Christ, God commissions himself to protect, provide, and care for you.1 God always provides for his children, though often it is not in the way we expect or hope.
The challenge is for us to see his provision and care, even when it is different than we expect. Because God is God, his ways are higher than our ways.2 But he graciously gives us insight into what he is doing in the Scriptures. …
We ask God for many things, but the greatest thing we could ever receive from him has already been given. What God has given us in the gospel is light years ahead of every other provision and care we could ever seek from him. When we trust in Christ, we have decisively secured for us every ultimately good thing from him. It’s just a matter of time. …
Hebrews 11 gives us two different perspectives on God’s provision and care for us. Some, by faith, came through this life victorious, while others lost their lives. Both are commended for their mighty faith.
God does not always provide and care for us in ways we might expect in this life. The Bible does not promise this. Peter, James, John, and Paul gave their very lives for the gospel. They viewed the gospel as a treasure not to be lost at any cost. They suffered gladly because they had something in the gospel that had far more worth.
This life is fleeting. This life is fragile. This life is but a vapor’s breath. The next life, the age to come, is where all God’s provision and care for us will ultimately make sense and come together as a whole.
We may not receive healing in this life, but we will receive perfect healing in eternity. We may not see answers to our greatest prayers in this life, but we will receive fully in eternity. Some days God’s provision and care may seem distant, but it will be ever-present in eternity. We long for our world to stop raging and be at peace, but ultimate peace will only come in eternity.
Our hearts ache under the pressures of this life, but it is only because we were made for another world. We are sojourners and aliens on this earth. “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.”3—Matt Brown4
We see the evidence of God’s provision from the very beginning of creation. He provided abundant food and the perfect environment in the Garden of Eden, then the water, manna, and quail for the Israelites, the ram taking Isaac’s place as the sacrifice, and the future provision of a new heaven and earth. God continues to provide for us daily (although not always in the ways we have in mind!).
God provides for both our daily spiritual and physical needs. … He promises to provide for us continually along our life’s path, walking beside us with love and encouragement.
One of the many names for God is Jehovah Jireh—The Lord will provide. It comes from the story of Abraham and Isaac in Genesis 22.
God tests Abraham by telling him to sacrifice his beloved and longed-for only son. God knew Abraham’s heart and the outcome; Abraham did not. However, we see only obedience, faith, and trust from Abraham. When Isaac asks his father, “Where is the lamb?” for the sacrifice, Abraham replies, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.”5
Abraham believed God’s promise of an entire nation of descendants through Isaac, even if it meant raising Isaac from the dead. No wonder he’s called the “Father of our faith.” He had unwavering faith and trust in God’s promises; even going so far as giving up his own son.
When God provided the ram for the sacrifice, Abraham “called that place ‘The Lord Will Provide.’ And to this day it is said, on the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.”6
God is still at work arranging provisions for us today. We can trust that His provisions will come at the exact moment, just like Abraham, when we need them. …
Every blessing, every good thing, and every enjoyable experience we have been gifted has come from Him. He is truly your Jehovah-Jireh, the Lord who provides.—AnnMarie7
Our natural tendency is to look beyond today and stress about tomorrow, which we cannot even control nor do anything about. Jesus knew we’d be like this, which is why He said, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?”8
He then goes on to ask a rhetorical question, “And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life.”9 The obvious answer is we can’t add a single hour; but on the contrary, worry and anxiety can shorten our lifespan, as it creates stress and weakens our immune system. ... Jesus concludes this paragraph by commanding us all, “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”10 …
When we have anxieties come upon us, and we all will, then we are to be “Casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.”11 This means “all” anxieties … not just most of them. Easy to say, but so very hard to do, I admit.
If you’re worried about anything at all, try to think of the creatures of the earth. Paul tells us,“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”12
God promises those who are His that they can depend upon Him in all circumstances and at all times. Since we know that God does not change,13 what makes us think that He will do anything less for us than He did for those of ancient times?
Just as He told Jacob, “Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you,”14 and just as He told Moses when faced by the powerful Egyptian army, “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again.”15
He tells us today, “Do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”16 Trust Him, believe Him, and know with a certainty that God cares for you and will take care of you just like He did yesterday, just like He will today, and just like He will tomorrow.—Jack Wellman17
I told My disciples that every hair of their heads was counted and that not one sparrow falls to the ground without My Father knowing about it. I told them that they didn’t need to worry about their material needs, that if they trusted and followed Me, I would make sure their needs were met.
This may sound unrealistic in today’s materialistic world, where the pursuit of money seems more important than ever. Times have changed, but My promises have not. They are just as sure today as they were 2,000 years ago. Seek first the kingdom of God and obey the Word to the best of your ability, and My Father will provide everything you need.18
When you love Me and are trying to follow My example of loving and caring for others, God will take care of you. That doesn’t mean, though, that you can expect a life of luxury and ease. The tough times are also part of your heavenly Father’s plan to shape your character. And just as an earthly father doesn’t automatically give his children everything they want, My Father doesn’t necessarily give you everything you want. He gives you what you need and what He knows is best for you—not only best for your immediate physical needs, but more importantly for your immortal spirit.—Jesus
Published on Anchor September 2022. Read by Gabriel Garcia Valdivieso.
Music by John Listen.
1 Philippians 4:19.
2 Isaiah 55:9.
3 1 Peter 2:9.
5 Genesis 22:8 NIV.
6 Genesis 22:14 NIV.
8 Matthew 6:25.
9 Matthew 6:27.
10 Matthew 6:34.
11 1 Peter 5:7.
12 Philippians 4:6.
13 Hebrews 13:8.
14 Genesis 28:15.
15 Exodus 14:13.
16 Matthew 6:34.
18 Matthew 10:29–30; 6:33.
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