A story is told of a poor dirt farmer in the dust bowl area of Oklahoma back in the mid 1930's. Oil was discovered on his property and a major oil company presented with a check with six "0's" in it. Now he and his wife had learned to live on very little. There was never enough of anything but hard dry ground. Now they were told that they could afford anything they wanted. Upon hearing the news of their new prosperity the farmer drove his old pickup to the general store in town where had always traded. The store owner (who had already heard the news) welcomed the farmer with a cheerful, "What can I get for you today?"
The farmer said, "Well there are some things I need - the usual. Give me a couple of pounds of bacon, a dozen eggs, and a sack of flower. We'll need a five pound bag of sugar and a couple of pounds of pinto beans, and my wife needs three yards of gingham material." The merchant, waiting for the farmer to start clearing the shelves in a wild shopping spree, said, "What else?"
"I guess that will do it", replied the farmer.
"That's it?", the shop owner asked incredulously. "You can afford to buy this whole store. Heck. You can afford to buy the whole town! Why are you just asking for your usual meager order?"
"Well, a man's got to be careful", the farmer said. "It's hard times, you know."
While most of us will never have that type of financial windfall, I think there is a very strong spiritual lesson for each of us in this story. You and I are basically needy people. The needs we have abound... financial, emotional, physical, spiritual, familial, etc. Sometimes we feel overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of those needs. However, those of us who have come into a personal relationship with Almighty God, through His Son, Jesus Christ have access to resources beyond our imaginations. Much like the Oklahoma farmer, we become accustomed to "getting by" and subsisting on very little when as "King's Kids" we truly have nothing to worry about!
This is not one of those "name it and claim it" or "blab it and grab it" messages. It is simply a reminder of some of the promises of our God that you and I have been given. When Paul writes in Philippians 4: 13, "But my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory through Christ Jesus", he means exactly what he says. After all, He is Jehovah-Jireh - the "God who Provides". It's an Old Testament truth. It's a New Testament truth. It's a present day truth. What particular need do you have? God has provided for it.
One of my favorite Bible messages that my Dad preached when I was a kid, was found in Genesis 22, when Abraham was tested by God. Old Abe was called upon to offer up his son, Isaac to God as a sacrifice. Now this in itself would be an unimaginable task for any father, but for Abraham it meant everything. One of the things God had promised him that a great nation would come from him. It looked as though the promise was meaningless. He was childless. He had no heir, much less any prospects of fathering a great nation. Then as a Centenarian, God gave him a son. This was the child of the promise. This child would be the genesis of that great nation God had promised. Now, several years later, that same God was asking Abraham to offer up Isaac as a sacrifice.
Talk about a mind blowing test! Yet Abraham didn't flinch. He didn't fully understand what God had in mind, but he believed God. In fact, that is what is said of Abraham three times in the Bible - he believed God and God counted that to him for righteousness. The passage records how Isaac questioned his father. "We have the wood and the fire but where is the lamb for the sacrifice? the young man asked. "The Lord will provide..." came the answer from the old man. Well, I'm sure you know the rest of the story. Abraham was ready to follow through on God's request when his hand was stayed by the Father. He was instructed to turn and there he found a ram caught in a thicket, and was allowed to offer it for a sacrifice.
Verse 14 of Genesis 22 records these words - "And Abraham called the name of the place, The-LORD-WILL-PROVIDE; as it is said to this day, "In the Mount of the LORD it shall be provided". (NKJV) "Jehovah-jireh" is translated "The LORD who sees" and "The LORD who provides" in various translations. The truth is that the Lord does see, and the Lord does provide for His people. Here is what Matthew Henry wrote concerning this verse:
"A new name is given to the place, to the honour of God, and for the encouragement of all believers, to the end of the world, cheerfully to trust in God in the way of obedience: Jehovah-jireh, the Lord will provide (v. 14), is probably alluding to what he had said (v. 8) God will provide himself a lamb. It was not owing to any contrivance of Abraham, nor was it in answer to his prayer, though he was a distinguished intercessor; but it was purely the Lord's doing. Let it be recorded for the generations to come, that the Lord will see; he will always have his eye upon his people in their straits and distresses, that he may come in with seasonable succor in the critical juncture."
We must not forget this great truth. God provides for His people. Whatever the need.
Getting older has had an unusual effect in my life. (Actually it's had a lot of unusual effects but I only want to talk about one at this time!) While He has gone a long way to teach me much more patience than ever before, I have grown more consistently impatient with Christians who don't trust God to take care of their needs. Eloquent words of prayer are spoken when we call upon God, but hearts seem to be far from believing. The words we speak may be right, but in to God it probably sounds like this:
"Lord, I know you spared Daniel in the Lion's Den" we intone. "I know you brought Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego through the fiery furnace. I know you caused the sun to stand still in the battle with the Amalekites...you knocked down the walls of Jericho... you parted the Red Sea for your people... you brought water from the Rock... but Lord, I've got this HOUSE PAYMENT!... I have this MEDICAL CONDITION!... My EMPLOYMENT SITUATION is unbearable!... My KIDS are beyond hope!... My NERVES ARE SHOT! (Take your pick)
In 2 Chronicles 20, King Jehoshaphat was facing an overwhelming crisis. He felt powerless in the face of the enemy, yet in verse 12 he prays these words to God - "...neither do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon you."
Paul the Apostle prayed this prayer for the Christians in Ephesus. It is my prayer for you today:
For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen. - Ephesians 3: 14-21 (NKJV)
What is your need today? You may THINK you know, but God most certainly does know! My challenge to you today is stop living BELOW your means! Quit worrying. He is in control and He cares for you.
Look to God for your provision. That's part of His business - and He is mighty good at it!
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