More Provisioning

Good Thursday morning! Hmm, the day could be a problem when my devotional thought begins with "Good ummm..." But, it is Thursday and senior moments aside, we will do the devotional. Praise the Lord, I made it to my first VA appointment in Cheyenne and came back intact. The overall impression was one of being sucked into a whirlwind. "Go here, go there, get this, across the street, fill this out, good, sit down here, test, test, test, Okay, they will contact you from the Lincoln office, Bye!" I may have been there about 45 minutes. I took two books along for the wait, but there weren't no wait. In my ignorance, I prepared for something that didn't happen.

Many of us seem to think that having faith in God's provision involves storing up this and that, saving a lot of something else, and in all ways preparing for anything that might occur. Like the rich man in the parable, we get ready to die with cupboards full. Now it takes a lot of food and various supplies to take care of a family. You may find it easier to shop once a month and fill the cupboards as best you can at that time. This is not what I am writing about here. What happened to the rich man and his grain bins is that he depended on his own provision. We on the other hand depend on God's provision. Perhaps I should have asked the Lord if I would need books for the trip yesterday. It is quite possible that He would have provided me with an answer. But, as so often happens, I depended upon what I thought I knew and provided something I didn't need. A minor thing in this case, but what happens when I turn that same thinking to my entire life? I could go places, buy things, and make a stash of something that will do me no good in the future God has laid out for me.

We have a tendency to take what we think we know from the past, add it to the parts of the present we hear about, and come up with a future that seems optimistic or pessimistic depending upon our own understanding. The one who doesn't like his present circumstances moans that nothing ever changes. The one who loves where he is may fear any change at all. The ignorant may choose to ignore what is going on all around her. The self-absorbed may miss signs that she should have seen. And the whole mess boils down to the fact that only God can see tomorrow. God may have you prep a bomb shelter with all manner of supplies; that is very similar to what Noah did. Or He may send you to His word where a famous person resembling Jesus said something like, "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble." (Matt 6:33-34) Trust in God means that I quit worrying about setting out provisions for myself along a path that I think I will tread. Instead, all of us turn to Jesus and say, "lead me where you will have me go, Lord!"

Have a great new day in Christ!
Bucky