A Generous Son: Trusting In My Father’s Provision

Don’t believe the lie! We are often inculcated with messages of being independent by the world.  We are trained to look to ourselves for provision and security. Indeed the oft refrain of “having no need for anyone” is seen as a strength and relying on others to fill a need is seen as burdensome and immature. All of which leads to a heightened sense of “I’ve got to do what I can to secure a future for myself!” This is simply not true in God’s kingdom. It’s the complete and total opposite experience with God. Jesus eloquently stated this contrast in Matthew 6:25-34 when He said “Take no thought for what you will eat or wear for your Father knows what you need rather seek first His Kingdom and all these things will be added unto you.” The implication is that God the Father knows our need and will make provision for that need to be met; without your having to ask Him! Where have we seen this before? Genesis 2:18. In the very first dealings with Adam, God is seen taking a note of Adam’s need and making the provision for it without Adam ever asking Him for a wife! God does not change. He operates the exact same way today with our needs. As we embark on becoming generous sons I thought it good that we start with a secure base, trusting in our Father’s provision. After all our aim is to be just like our Heavenly Father so why not take note of how He gives? In Exodus 16, we learn through this chapter that God’s provision is not limited by the economy of earth; rather it is supernatural and abundant, effectively supplying all our needs. Consider that God led the Children of Israel through the wilderness, a place of lack and danger all the while supplying the needs of hundreds of thousands if not millions of people to the full. The entire wilderness experience was curated so that the Israelites could learn that they can trust God with their needs. The act of trusting God with our needs is important because it exercises our faith and builds up confidence in God the Father who is the Lord our provider.

Let’s take a deeper look at Israel’s story in Exodus 16

God led the children of Israel through the wilderness. There in a place of lack and not enough they experienced the supernatural provision of God. Naturally the children of Israel complained in fear as they walked through these experiences of lack. Imagine having your children and spouse looking to you to provide and as you look around in this desolate land there is no water, no food, nothing on which we depend to survive. That’s what they had to face every day for 40 whole years. Just imagine having the scorching sun on your back, the stinging wind in your eyes and no food in sight!  I can definitely understand their grumbling. After all there is so much uncertainty in such a life! Looking around at their limited natural resources they worried about where their next meal was coming from. There is no stocked fridge in the desert. But its at times like this that we have to remember God is with us in the wilderness and where He is our needs are supplied.

 

As we read through this chapter it’s atypical of many other chapters which describe the wilderness experience of Israel. They encounter lack in the desert, they murmur and complain, God hears and supernaturally provides and the cycle continues. Reading these stories we might scoff at their lack of faith but if we’re honest… we can respond just like them when we too encounter lack. In verse 3 the Israelites began to complain and cried that God should have killed them in Egypt where they had food to eat. The same Egypt that they cried to be delivered from! Can you relate to seeing only the seeming good of a past situation as you face the seeming bad of your current situation. “Well it was rough when we were in such and such a place but at least we had food to eat!” But they didn’t stop at their unrealistic fantasies of the past. No, they went even further to accuse God of bringing them into the wilderness only to kill them. This accusation has been echoing forth from the Garden of Eden across generations for millennia “Is God really good?” “Can we truly trust Him?” These are the questions that our current experience of need and seeming lack demands us to answer. Here when the bills are due and the bank balance is insufficient, is God good? Here when the children need school supplies and your breadwinner is laid off work, Can you truly trust God? Here when waiting for marriage drags on another year with no end in sight, what will your answer be?  This is important because God has taken notice of our heart’s response to Him. In verse 12 God says emphatically “I have heard your murmurings!” God pays attention to our faith in Him. Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. Our murmurings spew forth from a heart filled with fear and mistrust whilst confessions of faith and thanksgiving flows out of a heart filled with faith. God wants His children to trust Him to provide for their needs!

God’s response to the Israelites teaches us a few things:

God’s ability to provide  is not limited by the economy of the earth. Think about it, Manna rained down from heaven every morning. Birds came up out of nowhere each night like clock work. God’s provision is not dependent upon where you are and what you have. Sometimes we can look in our account and say “God this isn’t enough,” but God is not dependent upon your bank balance to determine how He spends on you. I remember I was at the start of a new month. I was paid my salary just a few days before and after clearing off bills and expenses, what was left in my bank account wasn’t even enough to bring me back to work for the next few weeks. I don’t like that! I don’t like being in a position where there isn’t enough. I thought “I don’t have enough, what am I going to do, How am I going to manage this?” My stomach felt cold and tight, my heart started beating slow and heavy before racing a mile a minute, my palms sweat and my face carved into a frown. I was feeling so anxious and no matter how many times I repeated “The Lord is my Shepherd I shall not want;” the anxious feelings persisted. All this anxiety for something that hasn’t happened as yet! Similar to the Israelites who complained and murmured about a lack of food when they hadn’t been starving in the wilderness! They had only been on their journey for about a month at this point Exodus 12:18 and had just left an oasis Exodus 15:27. They saw their supplies running low and became anxious that’s why they complained; not because God had them starving in the wilderness. Likewise I saw my supplies running low and anticipated the worst rather than trusting God. Finally I prayed to the Lord, “ Daddy I need Your help. I am feeling worried about this and I can’t shake these anxious thoughts and feelings. Father, help me to trust you.” I kid you not that heavy feeling of dread lifted like a blanket off me and I felt joy. Nothing about my situation changed but I responded differently. That week someone came and placed money in my hands. Just to bless me and I heard the Lord say “Anna I have provision for you already secured that you know not of.” I learned that day that God had made provision for me long before I ever encountered my current need. I also learned that God’s provision for me wasn’t limited by what I had in my account.

 

 

God’s provision served to introduce them to a new way of thinking. In verses 15 to 30 we see the Israelites receiving instruction to take up just enough Manna each day to eat without leaving left overs and taking up enough to last until the sabbath day. Israel had learned bondage and labor in Egypt. They had learned to depend on their work to earn food. The Lord wanted them to have a mindset shift. The Lord was teaching them to rely on Him for provision, not their own hands. The Lord was teaching them they needed God not food to live Deuteronomy 8:3. Food runs out and spoils because there is no life in it to give but God is the sustainer and giver of life. He is the life of our souls. Only He can truly satisfy. What are some mindsets that you have which need to be renewed? I remember as a child I used to feel like my family would be better off without me as I heard them worry over how to provide for me. “Anna school fee needs to be paid, the uniforms and books haven’t been bought yet and school reopens soon.” Those conversations left me feeling like a burden to my parents. I internalized from an early age that my needs are burdensome. So I learned to do without and to handle it myself. It seemed like I was doing a good thing. I’m not being a bother and I’m being industrious and self sufficient but it was robbing me of God’s goodness. I have had such a hard time making my request known to God. I wasn’t even aware of what I was doing until God invited me to ask Him for what I needed. Until He asked me to trust Him to provide.

God’s provision showcases His Holiness. In verse 12 God says that through this miraculous provision the Israelites would know that He is “the Lord your God.” No other God provides for His children. God is good and He is for you. He knows the plans He has for you and they are good. He didn’t bring you up out of bondage to kill you off in the wilderness. He is all powerful and by His word He fills our every need. Truly the Lord set Himself apart from every other god they had ever known. God is a good and holy provider. He does not abuse, neglect, shame or rebuke us for our needs. Notice after such an evil accusation against Him God chose to respond with His goodness towards them. He treated the Israelites according to His Holy Word remaining faithful to His covenant. God isn’t going to switch up on you. He won’t punish you by withholding His goodness from you. I remember I woke up late for work one morning. I rushed out the door praying for a miracle to not end up late. I had to take public transportation and if you’re Jamaican you know how unreliable and uncomfortable that experience can be. I arrived at the taxi stand, no taxis. I had to wait half an hour before a taxi arrived which only compounded my anxiety. The entire journey my heart raced as I watched the time quickly wind down and the miles slowly creep by.  To my surprise I arrived at work with 10 minutes to spare. As my heart rate slowed down I heard the Lord say “ Anna, you were so conscious of your fault (not getting up early) that you had no expectation (confidence) for me to be good to you. That’s why you felt so anxious.” I was looking for consequences and what I deserved not for His gracious goodness towards me. My preoccupation with my sinful mistakes and unworthiness robbed me of His goodness and rest that comes from faith. So too the Israelites had to unlearn a system of earning the favor of the gods through idol worship and learn God’s goodness graciously given to the undeserving.

Let’s take a look at how God provides:

• When the children of Israel complained and feared God provided Exodus 16:3,8.
• When the children of Israel disobeyed, were ungrateful and undeserving God provided Exodus 16:12, 20, 27.
• God provided consistently and faithfully as He promised Exodus 16:4-5, 35-36.
• God provided supernaturally and sufficiently to satisfy the need Exodus 16:12-18.

God wants us to receive His provision by faith not by works Exodus 16:21, 25-26.

What’s the point of it all? God so loved the world that He gave… that’s the motive for God’s generosity towards us. His love. When we become conscious of His love towards us we don’t fear being in the desert for we know it’s the Father’s good pleasure to provide for us. The Lord has been working in my heart so that I can become expectant of His goodness towards me. I can see it all around me. The children of Israel were in the wilderness and they saw the place as evil Numbers 20:4-5. God has changed my perspective of the wilderness. It is no longer evil and to be feared but rather an opportunity for God to show forth His glory! When I began to see myself as the object of His affection, the daughter He delights in blessing, my heart began to turn in trust towards Him. When I began to see the almighty, supernatural power of God to provide I no longer expected to hear “Anna I don’t have it, Maybe next time.” I no longer saw myself as a burden having to do without because of limitations. One day the Holy Spirit said, “The Lord feeds in metric tons the whales of the sea. Not once do they worry about my supply. I do this so that you can know my power to provide and trust in me!” The Holy Spirit revealed a kingdom principle to me: God in love, supernaturally provides for His children. Love is the motivating factor of God’s generosity towards us. What kind of love overflowed in His heart that He would give His only begotten Son? Evidently Jesus is extremely precious and treasured in God’s heart. And yet He loved us enough to give up what was most precious to Him because of His love for us Romans 8:32. This is the heart of the matter: God’s goodness and provision is solely dependent upon His character and ability. He doesn’t give in response to our sinful unworthiness, He doesn’t give according to what’s naturally available, He doesn’t give according to our efforts and work. He gives according to His faithful love. God is Holy therefore we can trust our Father to provide!