Provision

Then she will think…She doesn’t realize it was I who gave her everything she has. (Hosea 7b-8a)

We often wrongly attribute provision. Of course, God still uses his provision despite our limited perspective, but if we would simply see and appreciate it more accurately, I wonder how much richer our gratitude would be. I wonder how much better we would steward what is within our grasp. I wonder…

Even when we appreciate what and how God provides, we slip into connecting our own efforts with provision. We work hard and make money, so we are providing for ourselves, right? But some people work hard and don’t make enough money to provide well. Some people don’t work hard and make plenty of money. Working hard has value, but not simply because of its connection to money. And who provides the job? Perhaps God, or it’s possible we are forcing the job we have instead of trusting God to guide us into the job he wants us to have for a season. Trusting God to provide doesn’t eliminate the need for our action. We can misapply the directives to be still and let it become an excuse for inaction or apathy.

Of course, God provides in much more ways than a job and finances. Provision isn’t exclusively materialistic. In fact, material provision is a tiny fraction of what God provides. We can consider what God values in order to anticipate his provision. He values love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. He values relationship, faith, and obedience. He values creation and eternity.

I want to value the same things God does. And I want to see his provision with as much clarity and gratitude as possible—not in order to receive anything but to deepen my relationship with and faith in him. When God becomes my everything, I can receive everything he has to give.