God the Provider
God is an incredible provider. Just incredible. I say this because he promises that he will provide. I also say this because he has done this in our lives time and time again. Do you mind if I give you just a few examples of what I'm talking about?
As we started walking into foster care (almost two years ago already) we knew that it would mean bringing in another child into our home. Added responsibility, added cost, another bed needed in our little home. But as we read our Bibles together each night we continually saw Jesus calling his followers to a life of justice for the oppressed, care for the orphans/widows and giving wholeheartedly to God. We never saw commands that were contingent on good financial savings, a debt free life, or spare rooms in a house. God led us to step out and follow his calling and not worry about all the little details that would need to fall into place.
And that is when we started to see it happen: God's crazy provision in ways we never expected. The spring we were looking into foster care, my husband unexpectedly lost all hearing in his left ear. So that season we found ourselves with a pile of medical bills for auditory tests and ear specialist visits. Fast forward to July. I was calling on a medical bill making sure it had been sent through our insurance before I paid it. When I asked about the balance to see if it matched up with my statement, she informed me that it was at zero, that it had been closed out on July 9th. I asked if there was a reason for that or if there were any notes on why that might be. She just told me again that it was at a zero balance as of the 9th and we didn't have to worry about it. I got off the phone and called Justin right away at work, as I was telling him the good news, it hit me: July 9th, the day we mailed in our foster care application!
A month goes by and its August, and we are in the process of getting licensed for foster care. Over the course of 1 week, I was given 3 bins of hand me down girl clothes for our daughter. I once again called Justin while on his lunch and jokingly said that perhaps God was going to place a girl in our home (instead of the boy we always pictured). Justin went back to work and called me 15 minutes later saying that he'd received an email from a foster couple we knew, wondering if we'd be interested in possibly adopting the little girl they had been fostering for the past 8 months. A little girl, just 4 months younger than our daughter, who we lovingly call "Autumn". It's been over a year since we've had two little ladies in our home and I've never had to buy them any clothes.
Did I mention the day that I was talking to my hubby about everyone else being stylish and feeling douty and out of style? Well the next day someone came by to visit and brought a bag of adorable, trendy shirts that she didn't wear and asked I would be interested in them.
Oh, how I could go on and on all day!
All throughout the Bible God provides for his children from Abraham to David to Paul. We have that same God and he continues to provide daily for our needs. No, he doesn't always give us all our wants or desires, but all of our NEEDS. It has been such a faith builder for Justin and I to see his provision day after day. With our deepening trust in Him, rather than in ourselves, we've discovered something else incredible. The pressure is gone. The pressure to plan and plot out our next steps.
While we try our best to be wise with money and be good stewards of what we've been given, we've been able to throw off the worry and chains of fretting over how the year(s) will look.We have confidence that God will provide what we need, when we need it.
And he promises the same for you!
In Matthew, after Jesus talks about money, storing treasures in heaven rather than on earth, and about worrying, he says: "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." - Matthew 6:33
The key here isn't that God is promising to make you rich, but rather, above all things, we are to seek first his kingdom and his righteousness. When we set our hearts and lives on living for the things that matter to God, he gives us a promise that everything else will fall into place. And that is just what God has taught us when we've stepped out to faithfully do what he has called us to. That's when we've seen him providing for all of our physical and emotional needs to make that possible.
So what does this mean for you? Are your worries taking up so much of your time that you find yourself with no time to "seek Him first"? Have you said "no" to something God has put on your heart because it just seems too far of a stretch for you or your family? Go to God in prayer and put your trust in his promises. Just like any parent loves to be able to provide for the needs of their children, God LOVES providing for us, and what joy that gives us as his children to lean on him for our provision!