Man on man, did I get fired up as I was preparing to share this FTM thought with each of you this morning. I had heard a song on the radio a week or so ago, and thought it might work into a future message, but "Wow!" I pulled up the video of the song The Lord Will Provide by Landon Wolfe and Passion and the blessings just started flowing! (I encourage you to click on the link and not only listen to the song, but listen to the words and the message they share) The song's lyrics are centered around Jesus' message to His disciples about where they should be placing their focus and attention each day. In Matthew 6, Jesus encourages His followers to "... seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." Matthew 6:33. Seek God and God will provide, are you ready? Let's go!
In the song, Wolfe points out three needs from the message of Jesus that still exist today. "What are we going to wear?", "What are we going to eat?", and "What are we going to drink?" are still pretty common questions we deal with regularly. Those may seem to be trivial questions in the scope of things, but what Jesus was referring to are the birds in the sky and the flowers in the field. Watching a flock of birds synchronously floating about in the sky is a pleasure for the eye, but what we don't ever see are birds crying or fretting about what they will eat or drink? Could it be that they know what we struggle to comprehend, God will provide! The lilies of the field are beautiful as the breeze beacons them back and forth, but the lilies, in all their beauty, are clothed by God and there is no worry about how they are adorned. Jesus then asks the question, if I'm taking care of the birds and the flowers what do you have to worry about, don't I provide for you more than I do the lilies of the field? (Matthew 6:25-32)
So, does that mean that God is going to provide you with everything you ask for regardless of what you are asking for? If that were the case, wouldn't we all go out and purchase the big lottery ticket tonight and in unison all pray, "Lord, I need that lottery tonight, will you make sure I win it?" Well, first do you really "need" a pot of gold or is it more of a matter of we "want" that instant millionaire status? As the song points out, God will provide "everything" you "need". When I look at my own life, I have to ask, "What is it that I really need?" I mean really need? There are times when we have to rearrange things in our refrigerator to make room for a few new items from the store, and when it comes down to a roof over our head and a soft pillow to lay our heads down on each night, what could I sincerely ask for that I truly need? Praise God, He has provided and I firmly believe He will continue to provide what I need to survive and thrive!
That leads us to the question of what happens when it feels like God didn't or isn't providing what we truly believe we "need"? A sickness that isn't being healed, a financial free fall that does not appear to have a net prepared to catch us, or possibly a relationship that has shattered and resolution is not on the horizon, are all more comparable to a list of things that we truly "need". This is where we have to learn to trusst God and have faith that what we feel is an unanswered prayer may be something that will be fulfilled in God's timing not ours. He is going to fulfill His plan for your life and it may feel like your prayers are not being heard or that God doesn't care about you, but I am telling you to trash your fears and cast off your doubts, because the God we serve is a great big God and He knows exactly what we need for His will to be fulfilled! Everything you need, and everything I need, God knows what we need!
I have friends, colleagues, and family members that are going through what I am certain feels like their world is crashing all around them, or life conditions that have brought them to the point of asking "Where are you God? Are you here? Don't you hear my prayers?" My heart breaks for each of you and I am praying for you. But the message that I need to share with you today is that God will provide. Will it be exactly what we pray for or how we pray for the outcome to be? My faith tells me that my plans and ideas are not Gods always. God's plans are unimaginable for our human minds to conceive, yet by placing our trusting faith in the One True Eternal God of All Creation, we can find peace, strength, and the stamina we need to courageously move forward. Trust in the Lord, do not rely on your own understanding, in everything submit to God, and He will illuminate your path forward." (Proverbs 3:5-6) Join me in prayer today for God to open our eyes and strengthen our hearts to trust that God will provide! Amen
Coach Carter
