We've been on a journey with our finances and God's provision for our family over the past couple of years. At more than one time in the almost 10 years we've been married, we been sustained through loss of employment for Peter (twice), changing to one income, trusting God through starting up His wedding business.
But more recently, He is testing our faith in this area more than before. The wedding season has slowed, and Peter's business has not picked up as it typically does in the spring and summer. I can say with surety, though, that this does not limit God, and it is NOT an indicator of how the Lord will provide for us. But it can be a source of temptation for us. Looking at the numbers or details of our bank accounts, it doesn't make sense, and one would fret (which we have done and still face at many a moment). But I know that God is bigger than numbers, and bigger than logic.
Some of the stories in the Bible that God has brought to my mind that are serving as faith-building reminders, that the same God of the Old Testament, is the same God who loves me with His steadfast love and faithfulness because of His son Jesus Christ:
- Manna from Exodus 16: It's so amazing how the Lord provided for the Israelites after they left Egypt. It wasn't lavish or extravagant (but then again they were in the dessert, weren't they), nor was it abundant. God provided exactly what they needed for each day. No more, and no less. Quail in the evening, and bread in the morning. When the Israelites got greedy, or like me, out of a lack of faith or fear for the future, collected more than they had need for, then the bread turned into worms and stank. God provided for His people for forty years. Manna, every day for 40 years! Can you imagine that?
What strikes me about this story is that when they collected the manna, each and every person had there fill. God not only knows what we need, but He knows how much we need. This may be very different from what our preferences are, but nonetheless, God knows how much for us to have our fill.
This brings me to another passage in the Bible, the Lord's Prayer from Matthew 6:5-14.
- "Give us this day our daily bread."
God says to ask for our "daily" bread. I am learning to see that His desire is for us to ask daily for His provision, and trust in his DAILY provision for today, and only today. He does promise that we will have what we need, just as the birds of the air and the lilies of the field are fed and clothed. Matt. 6:24 also says, "Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble." Just like manna. Just enough for today. No more, no less. What does this look like for in my daily life? This means that I pray in faith for the Lord to provide for my family today's needs. To then receive with gratefulness and faith what he has given me today.
Back in Jesus' time there were no direct deposits, and daresay salaried work. You were paid for the work that you did then. I've far too long believed the lie that my security is in our paycheck and in our bank account. It's not. My security is in the Lord alone.
Some other promises I'm trusting in from God's word and quotes to remember:
- Isaiah 42:16
"And I will lead the blind
in a way that they do not know,
in paths that they have not known
I will guide them.
I will turn the darkness before them into light,
the rough places into level ground.
These are the things I do,
and I do not forsake them."
- Isaiah 46:8-10
"Remember this and stand firm,
recall it to mind, you transgressors,
9 remember the former things of old;
for I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and there is none like me,
10 declaring the end from the beginning
and from ancient times things not yet done,
saying, ‘My counsel shall stand,
and I will accomplish all my purpose,’"
- Isaiah 26:3-4
" You keep him in perfect peace
whose mind is stayed on you,
because he trusts in you.
Trust in the Lord forever,
for the Lord God is an everlasting rock."
-Lamentations 3:21-24
"But this I call to mind,
and therefore I have hope:
22 The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
his mercies never come to an end;
23 they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
24 “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,
“therefore I will hope in him.”
- Lamentations 3:37-38
"Who has spoken and it came to pass,
unless the Lord has commanded it?
38 Is it not from the mouth of the Most High
that good and bad come?"
These verses in Lamentations reminded me that even trials are an expression of His steadfast love for me. From the Isaiah 46 verse, I'm reminded that He will accomplish His purpose. This He will do through His sovereign will and especially through trials.
From J.I. Packer on providence:
"The unceasing activity of the Creator whereby, in overflowing bounty and goodwill, He upholds His creatures in ordered existence, guides and governs all events, circumstances, and free acts of angels and men, and directs everything to its appointed goal, for His own glory."
Charles Spurgeon:
"The main business is to be saved from the fear of trouble. If you are quiet, calm, and assured, you are really saved from your trial's sting. The trial is nothing if it does not sting your soul. If your heart is not troubled, them there is not trouble. All the poverty and all the pain the world would not prevail if the evil of it did not enter your soul." - from Beside Still Waters
"The Greatest blessing God gives us is His presence...If God is with us, if His divine love surrounds us, them we carry our own atmosphere and residence wherever we travel."
- from Beside Still Waters
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