All I'll Ever Need

As I was laying in bed (before I got out of bed to write this blog :)), I was struck by the amazing ways God provided for me today. Today was incredibly stressful for me, and I found myself thinking several times that I just wasn't going to make it through this last leg of the semester. Where I usually try to find an optimistic viewpoint, I was instead struggling to keep my head above the waves of a pessimistic attitude.

But God provided. He surrounded me with completely unexpected encouragement -- encouragement I didn't even realize I needed. Oh, how I needed the reminders He provided. Through these individuals, He reminded me that I am valued, that I am blessed, and ultimately that I am in His care.

I'm filled with so much peace -- a complete contrast from the stormy weather of my emotions today. I'm simply full of... contentment, and rest. Mmm.

Anyway, let's continue talking about God the Provider, because this is BIG.

This was a huge lesson for me to learn, in conjunction with "God is good". God is good, therefore, God provides all that is good for us.

These parts of God's character have unfortunately been hard to believe in some of the stormier moments of my life. As one example, my financial situation has been a difficult one for several years now, but ever since I started praying for God to provide, I have been able to see the ways that He already has, and continues to care for me. In the simplest and most unexpected ways, God has delivered money into my bank account at the precise moments I needed it.

God provides all of the things we need. Matthew 6:8 tells us "Your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask Him!" This makes God the ultimate Provider -- He perceives what we will need, and arranges situations to provide for us out of His goodness and love.

I could write about God being the Provider for hours, as He has opened my eyes to all of the provision He has laid out in my life. The more I entrust in Him, the more He opens my eyes to see the gifts He is giving me. Kind of like a bank, now that I think about it... which may seem like a strange analogy, but bear with me: The more money a person chooses to invest without withdrawing, the higher interest rate they can attach to their original sum, which provides a larger turnover than if the invester had chosen not to entrust so much money with the bank.

While God certainly is not a banking system, our trust works in a similar fashion. God is the Provider regardless of whether we choose to acknowledge it or not (Matthew 6:25-30), however, we cannot experience the complete wonders of God's provision if we do not entrust Him with our everything, and do not seek after Him first. The continuation of this passage in Matthew exemplifies this very idea: "Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and He will give you everything you need." (Matthew 6:33)

Not only will God provide for us in the physical sense, but in the emotional and spiritual senses as well. When we seek after Him with abandon, our eyes are opened to the fact that God HIMSELF is everything we will ever need.

The Psalmist in 142:5 says "You are all I really want in life." The closer we draw to God, the less dependent we become on anything other than God's unfailing love. We gradually realize that God is our center, the very beating of our hearts, and that no matter what happens in our lives, no matter what we may be lacking or what we may have in abundance, the one thing that will never change is that God is "our Rock and our Salvation, our Fortress where we will never be shaken" (Psalm 62:2).

Psalm 73:26 further illuminates this wonder: "My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart, He is mine forever."

You are all I really want in life.

Nothing can separate us from the provision of this unfailing love.

The verse that is my constant reminder of God's provision comes from Isaiah 40: "He will feed His flock like a Shepherd. He will carry the lambs in His arms, holding them close to His heart." (Isaiah 40:11).

This verse really shows us the inseparable connection between God's provision and His love. He not only provides for His flock in the physical sense, but He gives us His love, the one thing we TRULY need, whether we recognize that or not.

Thank You, Lord, for being our everything when we have nothing, and for Your patience with us as we search to better understand Your Father's heart.