Earlier this week I was thinking about the ways that God provides for His people. He led the Israelites out of Egypt; He rescued Daniel from the lions’ den; He fed the five thousand.
When He called upon Abraham to sacrifice his beloved son – the son that had been promised to him – He provided a substitute in his place. At this moment, Abraham named the place where they stood The Lord will provide. Not only did God provide a substitute in this moment, but He has provided one for all of us as well. By sending His Son to die in our place, we have been set free from the death that we deserved.
All throughout Scripture we see this theme of provision; God is constantly taking care of His people. And He does the same for us today. In particular, I’ve been thinking of two distinct ways that He does so: in our weakness, and in our obedience.
Provider in our weakness
He is our provider during seasons of weakness, of suffering, of trials. In spite of whatever we face, we have a God who did not even spare His Son for our benefit; as Romans 8:31-32 says, how will the God who sacrificed His Son for us not also give us everything we need? Nothing that we face will require more of God than what He has already given to us.
When doors are closed in our lives, it can be hard to see why. When we ask God for an answer, or an opportunity, or a miracle, and He does not respond how we’d like, it’s easy to despair and feel that God has forgotten us. But if we truly believe that He knows what is best for us, then when He closes a door, directs us away from what we wanted, or does not give us what we prayed for, it’s because what He has planned is so much better than what we’re asking. He will never give us an inadequate substitute.
That isn’t to say that it will always be easy, or that we will be quick to recognize the purpose behind His plans. But we can rest assured that no matter the circumstances, our idea of how our lives should go is nothing but a shadow of the goodness that God has in store for us. And it’s not that God will always provide us with something earthly to take the place of what we lost – if, say, we lose a job that we loved, it may not be that the next week we’re offered an even better one. Sometimes, from worldly standards, things are undeniably not good, and they remain that way for some time. But those are the moments in which He provides the spiritual strength to endure. During various hard circumstances in my life, the blessing that God provided was not Him “fixing” the situation from my perspective. Instead, what He offered was the strength, the peace, and the growth that made me able to endure. And this blessing was so worth it, to the point that I wouldn’t have it any other way. There was never a time when God wasn’t working both in me and for me. So, no matter how prolonged a season of suffering, no matter the desperate nature of my circumstances, I know that I have only to wait and see what God will do.
In 2 Corinthians 12, Paul spoke of having a thorn in his flesh that tormented him. He asked God to take away this hardship, and God actually said no – by our standards, that would be a huge blow. If we are living righteously and seeking God, why can’t He take away the thing that is causing us pain? But look at the outcome – instead of removing the struggle from Paul’s life, the Lord taught him what it meant to truly rely on Him for his strength. And in God’s power, Paul was able to be so much stronger with his suffering than he ever would have been without it. He goes on to rejoice, content in any circumstance because of this power working in his weakness. Thus, even when the Lord does not give us the answer that we hope for, we know that He is providing in ways we have yet to imagine.
Provider in our obedience
Just as God is our provider in our times of suffering and weakness, He is also our provider in seasons of growth and obedience. No matter what God calls us to, He is faithful to carry out the work in our lives and to make it fruitful if we let Him. 2 Corinthians 8:12 says “For if the readiness is present, it is acceptable according to what a person has, not according to what he does not have”. In other words, if we are willing to obey God, that will be enough; God will make our offering acceptable, no matter what we bring to the table. We can never have too little for Him. Even if He calls us to something outside of our comfort zones or outside of what we view as our personal strengths, our human limits are irrelevant when God is at work. Think of the poor widow in Mark 12 – unlike those who put large offerings into the temple treasury, this woman had only two coins to present. Yet Jesus said that she donated more than the rest of them; she gave all that she had, humble as it was. And humble as our offerings are – whether of talent, or time, or money – they are more than enough in the hands of our God.
I think about God’s calling of Moses to rescue the Israelites from Egyptian bondage. He tells him to confront the Pharaoh and to lead the people from their captivity. Moses’ automatic response is to repeatedly question God’s plan. Who am I to do this? What shall I say to them about what You’ve asked me to do? What if they won’t believe me? He even goes so far as to ask God to send someone else, someone more eloquent and better prepared.
When I read this, I’m tempted to wonder how Moses could hear the voice of God calling him toward this amazing purpose and still be willing to doubt and argue with Him. And yet, how often have I done this exact thing? How many times have I felt God leading me to reach out to someone, and yet in fear of rejection or embarrassment I let the moment pass? What about the times I’ve felt God’s calling on my life and later convinced myself that I must have misunderstood, that I would never be good enough to do what He is asking of me? Even recently I caught myself thinking this. So, I suppose I’m right there with Moses, standing before a burning bush and somehow still unbelieving.
But God is not asking us to be “good enough” to carry out His will. He’s not asking us to have it all figured out, to map out every possible scenario and plan accordingly. He’s not asking us to be sure of ourselves. He is only asking us to be sure of Him. To be faithful in our response, to be obedient even without knowing the outcome. This is the God who “is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed”, the God who “will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness” (2 Corinthians 9:8,10). If He has called us to something, He will provide what we need to make it fruitful.
Let’s go back to Moses for a minute. God knew what He was doing; He knew His plan to rescue His people. Moses was called not because of his adequacy, but because of God’s. Yet due to Moses’ fear and reluctance, God allowed him to lessen his role and to use his brother as a spokesperson. I wonder what work we could have seen God do in Moses if he had not protested so much? I imagine that Moses’ insecurities and limitations would have been beautifully overcome by the power of the God he served, if he had only surrendered to the opportunity. In the same way, when we feel a calling from God but later begin to feel inadequate, let’s ask ourselves if this insecurity is from God, or from the devil. Because if it matters enough to Satan to try to disrupt our obedience and diminish our participation in God’s will, then what amazing things must be in store for us if we obey? God will never call us to something that He is not prepared to completely effect in our lives. So when we are overcome with feelings of inadequacy, we must remember that it is not by our power that we are working, but by God’s. Because of this, we can have complete security in His plans; released from our fear we are free to get excited about the work we’re going to see Him do!
In conclusion: we serve a God who provides. He provided the ultimate substitute for our sin, in the sacrifice of His perfect Son. He provides for us in our daily routines and in our life-altering crises. He provides in ways seen and unseen, recognized and hidden. He provides in our weakness and in our obedience. God is our provider in all things.
Related Scripture
2 Corinthians 8:12
“For if the readiness is present, it is acceptable according to what a person has, not according to what he does not have.”
Romans 8:31-32
“What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?”
2 Corinthians 9:6-12
“Now this I say, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed; as it is written, ‘He scattered abroad, He gave to the poor, His righteousness endures forever’. Now He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness; you will be enriched in everything for all liberality, which through us is producing thanksgiving to God. For the ministry of this service is not only fully supplying the needs of the saints, but is also overflowing through many thanksgivings to God.”
Philippians 4:13
“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
Philippians 4:19
“And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”
1 Thessalonians 5:24
“Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass.”
Luke 18:27
“The things that are impossible with men are possible with God.”
Psalm 84:11-12
“For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord gives grace and glory; no good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly. O Lord of hosts, how blessed is the man who trusts in You!”
Ephesians 3:20-21
“Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.”
Matthew 6:25-33
“For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on…But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith!…But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”
The Girl that Jesus Loved 