Day Nine: God Provides
Philippians 4:19
"And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus."
Our Lord and Savior has many names. One in particular has always been something I have clung on to. It is Jehovah Jireh, which means "the God who provides".
For those of you that know me on a personal level, I can tend to be a control freak. I tend to have to know where things are and where things are going. Giving up that control has not been the easiest thing for me, I can tell you that. I mean, I always knew that God would provide, but I wasn't really living that out. I would say it, but always have that fear in the back of my head of would it really work and when would it happen.
When some hear the words, "the God who provides", they automatically think in material ways. I will be the first to raise my hand and say that was my first thought. During the late summer of 2009 I lost my job. It was a dead-end job. I wasn't growing or going anywhere with the company and I certainly wasn't happy there, but that being said it was still unexpected and it turned my world upside down. I wasn't financially ready for what had occurred and my roommate was in no way an understanding woman (I have learned to not live with non-believers again). Living with a non-believer became a problem when I became a believer. It became abusive, destructive and a place where I would go, lock myself in my room and not want to come out until I had to go somewhere. I prayed to God during this time. I prayed for him to get me out of my apartment and to help me find a job. I prayed to be in my comfort zone again because I was so scared being out of it. That was in July of 2009. Here is how the months broke down.
July: Lost job, accepted Christ into my heart, was blessed with Godly women as friends and PRAYED!
August: Job searching, working for a friend painting classrooms, cashed the 401K, broke up with someone, grandmother passed away and PRAYED!
September: Job searching, looking for a new place to live and PRAYED!
October: Got an amazing job, moved into a great place, and PRAYED!
Notice the one thing that is a constant? Yep! You guessed it. I PRAYED! But one thing strikes me looking at all of this. I remember praying for the job, the living situation, and the 401K cash out to go well, but I don't remember praying to accept Christ right after I lost my job. I don't remember praying for Godly women in my life and I certainly don't remember praying to be a peace with everything in the beginning of it all. All I was praying for was to live. To survive. But God blessed me in abundance. He blessed me with things I was too exhausted and single-minded to see. I was just looking at the material. I was just looking to live of the world (and survive) and not just in the world. I needed validation of who I was through the material things I thought I needed to live. God came into my life in a big way, in a way that had nothing to do with the material of this world.
"So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first the kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of it's own." Matthew 6:31-34
God knows what we need. All we have to do is live for Him, lay our cares and worries at the cross and not worry about what tomorrow holds because our God has us and will NEVER let us go or fall.
"Cast your cares on the Lord and He will sustain you; He will NEVER let the righteous fall." Psalm 55:22 (caps are mine)
Yes, God provided me the type of job I had been wanting. Yes, God provided a way for me to get out of my living situation and into a great place, but he also gave my something greater than all that, he gave me Godly friends. I refer to them as my "Circle of Four".
I have four Godly women in my life that hold me accountable and know every teeny tiny detail about my past and present. They are the ones I tell things right away to. The girls I go to for advice. I might not speak to one of these girls for a week and we can pick up like we had never stopped talking. These girls are a gift from the Lord in my life and I could not speak more highly of them. I met 3 of these girls in my small group (plugging small groups right here... they are AMAZING!) and one that I have known for 17 years; that God placed back in my life at just the right time. Oh... God's amazing timing.
It is amazing to see God provides in ways we never knew He could and, at the same time, see how, when He does, that His timing is always perfect and at just the right moment. He never just provides in material ways and never just provides the things we ask for. He provides to teach us as well. He provides to show us things. To show us who He is and to show us how amazing following Him with our whole heart can me. It's His way of telling us to just give it all to Him, very bit of our hearts, and He will provide.
This is my question and challenge for you today. Do you believe God is Jehovah Jireh? Do you truly believe that when you give everything to Him that He will provide and never let you fall? My challenge for you is to go all in with everything you have. Give it to him. Everything you are worried about. HE WILL PROVIDE! He wants to provide for us. He wants us to see that magnificent things that he can do in our lives. I am praying for you sweet friend.
In Him and For His Glory!
"And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus."
Our Lord and Savior has many names. One in particular has always been something I have clung on to. It is Jehovah Jireh, which means "the God who provides".
For those of you that know me on a personal level, I can tend to be a control freak. I tend to have to know where things are and where things are going. Giving up that control has not been the easiest thing for me, I can tell you that. I mean, I always knew that God would provide, but I wasn't really living that out. I would say it, but always have that fear in the back of my head of would it really work and when would it happen.
When some hear the words, "the God who provides", they automatically think in material ways. I will be the first to raise my hand and say that was my first thought. During the late summer of 2009 I lost my job. It was a dead-end job. I wasn't growing or going anywhere with the company and I certainly wasn't happy there, but that being said it was still unexpected and it turned my world upside down. I wasn't financially ready for what had occurred and my roommate was in no way an understanding woman (I have learned to not live with non-believers again). Living with a non-believer became a problem when I became a believer. It became abusive, destructive and a place where I would go, lock myself in my room and not want to come out until I had to go somewhere. I prayed to God during this time. I prayed for him to get me out of my apartment and to help me find a job. I prayed to be in my comfort zone again because I was so scared being out of it. That was in July of 2009. Here is how the months broke down.
July: Lost job, accepted Christ into my heart, was blessed with Godly women as friends and PRAYED!
August: Job searching, working for a friend painting classrooms, cashed the 401K, broke up with someone, grandmother passed away and PRAYED!
September: Job searching, looking for a new place to live and PRAYED!
October: Got an amazing job, moved into a great place, and PRAYED!
Notice the one thing that is a constant? Yep! You guessed it. I PRAYED! But one thing strikes me looking at all of this. I remember praying for the job, the living situation, and the 401K cash out to go well, but I don't remember praying to accept Christ right after I lost my job. I don't remember praying for Godly women in my life and I certainly don't remember praying to be a peace with everything in the beginning of it all. All I was praying for was to live. To survive. But God blessed me in abundance. He blessed me with things I was too exhausted and single-minded to see. I was just looking at the material. I was just looking to live of the world (and survive) and not just in the world. I needed validation of who I was through the material things I thought I needed to live. God came into my life in a big way, in a way that had nothing to do with the material of this world.
"So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first the kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of it's own." Matthew 6:31-34
God knows what we need. All we have to do is live for Him, lay our cares and worries at the cross and not worry about what tomorrow holds because our God has us and will NEVER let us go or fall.
"Cast your cares on the Lord and He will sustain you; He will NEVER let the righteous fall." Psalm 55:22 (caps are mine)
Yes, God provided me the type of job I had been wanting. Yes, God provided a way for me to get out of my living situation and into a great place, but he also gave my something greater than all that, he gave me Godly friends. I refer to them as my "Circle of Four".
I have four Godly women in my life that hold me accountable and know every teeny tiny detail about my past and present. They are the ones I tell things right away to. The girls I go to for advice. I might not speak to one of these girls for a week and we can pick up like we had never stopped talking. These girls are a gift from the Lord in my life and I could not speak more highly of them. I met 3 of these girls in my small group (plugging small groups right here... they are AMAZING!) and one that I have known for 17 years; that God placed back in my life at just the right time. Oh... God's amazing timing.
It is amazing to see God provides in ways we never knew He could and, at the same time, see how, when He does, that His timing is always perfect and at just the right moment. He never just provides in material ways and never just provides the things we ask for. He provides to teach us as well. He provides to show us things. To show us who He is and to show us how amazing following Him with our whole heart can me. It's His way of telling us to just give it all to Him, very bit of our hearts, and He will provide.
This is my question and challenge for you today. Do you believe God is Jehovah Jireh? Do you truly believe that when you give everything to Him that He will provide and never let you fall? My challenge for you is to go all in with everything you have. Give it to him. Everything you are worried about. HE WILL PROVIDE! He wants to provide for us. He wants us to see that magnificent things that he can do in our lives. I am praying for you sweet friend.
In Him and For His Glory!
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