God’s Daily Provision
Have you ever had a time in your life when you did not know when and how your needs would be provided? Maybe you are in that season right now. You may not know how you will be able to afford the supplies you need for school, the car/gas you need to get to work, or the food you need to feed your family. Let me encourage you that there is a peace you can find in those times, a peace found as you follow and trust in God. Through Him you can have hope, believing that He will supply what you need for each day. God does not advise us to have a 5-year plan, or for us to panic, when we are not certain how things will work out. Jeremiah 29:11 states, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.” This verse helps fix your eyes on the Lord, knowing that He is in control and that you can have hope in Him. The best part is that He doesn’t just plan for your future, He also provides for your daily life along the way.
The Lord is active and He wants you to learn to rely on Him daily. This is an important part of building a relationship with God. You learn that you need Him in everything because “[he] opens [his] hands and satisfies the desires of every living thing” (Psalm 145:16). God teaches you to trust in Him knowing He is the source of all we really need. In Exodus chapter sixteen God makes a point to provide daily food for His people while in the wilderness. The people needed only to trust Him to do this, therefore, they could not save any food for the next day. Many failed even though God kept up His end of the promise. In order to see God’s work in your life, and for Him to come through in His promises, you must give up your understanding and begin to trust in Him (Proverbs 3:5). In Matthew 6:26 Jesus gives us another side of trusting God to provide daily. The Word reads, “Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?“ Then, He goes on to say in Matthew 6:34, “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” God doesn’t want you to become caught up in trying to predict what will happen the next day, week, or month.
He wants you to focus on what He has already given you so that you can have gratitude that will help you withstand the trial you’re facing.
He understands how our minds work and knows how we struggle with anxiety and the unknown. Therefore, God modeled through His Son, Jesus, how to pray for what we need. Matthew 6:8-13 states, “..your Father knows what you need before you ask Him. Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.” First, this is a great prayer to know and pray since it came directly from Jesus’ mouth to the page. Second, it is a great prayer to pray when you do not know what to pray. Jesus even says that the Father “knows what we need before we ask Him,” yet He still wants us to come to Him to build a relationship on trust. In addition, notice how Jesus included for us the part “give us this day our daily bread.” I’m sure that even alludes to Exodus chapter sixteen. This part is included within the prayer to remind us how our Father is the One who can provide for us daily. Therefore, when you feel overwhelmed, remember you can confidently go to God asking Him to provide for needs. Make sure to hold up your end and trust that what He promises will come to pass.
