The Provider

Hearing the same message in different places three times in one week warrants a blog post. It's easy to think that since I don't have much in monetary terms, that it isn't possible to have an obsession with money. But honestly the heart behind the matter is that whether I have much or little, God cares about how I handle whatever He has given me. I try to stockpile what I have in the bank only to incur unexpected expenses or emergencies that require me to spend that money... it frustrates me incredibly that I only ever have exactly the right amount at only the exactly right time. But on the flip side, I have EXACTLY THE RIGHT AMOUNT AT THE EXACTLY RIGHT TIME!!! I have been looking at these things all wrong and God is in the process of flipping my mindset upside down.

As we study the road to the tabernacle in the Beth Moore study I'm doing at church, I am reminded of the Israelites in the desert. How God provided food for them EACH DAY. They were not able to store it because God wanted more than their provision-- He wanted their hearts and He wanted them to be obedient to Him and to rely on Him alone. I am no better and must learn to come to the water each and every day to receive my daily bread.

As vain as this might seem, one thing that hit me most in this study was that God also provided for their clothing.

"Your clothes did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these forty years." (Deut 8:4) and "During the forty years that I led you through the desert, your clothes did not wear out, nor did the sandals on your feet." (Deut 29:5)

Amazing... He truly is the Provider. He has proven His trustworthiness over and over and despite my thick skull, has patiently called me time after time to give my heart fully to Him.

--JLR