Psalms 111
He has given food to those who fear Him; He will ever be mindful of His covenant. Psalms 111:5 NKJV
Do you feel like there is something missing from your life? Whether it is financial provision, good health, life-giving relationships, godly guidance, peace, joy, strength, patience, courage, self-control, or contentment, God promises throughout Scripture that He will provide it in abundance for those who trust in Him, worship Him and are obedient to His commands. “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 His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matthew 6:31-33). God will provide everything that we need and more, but receiving His provision and His blessings requires faith and trust in His plans. Since He is the source of everything we need, it makes sense that we need to turn to Him first when we are in need.
The key to what we can expect to receive for seeking God and trusting Him can be found in Philippians 4:19: “And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of His glory in Christ Jesus.” God’s promises throughout the Bible not only tell us that He will provide for our physical needs like clothing and food, but they also say that He will provide and care for our souls. In fact, Ephesians 1:3 says “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.” What spiritual blessings have been given to us? Here are a few: salvation, adoption into His family, His unconditional love, forgiveness of all sins, and the gift of the Holy Spirit, which fills us with “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23). All of these spiritual blessings are available to us, but we have to choose to use them. For example, we all have the capability to control ourselves and not give in to fits of anger, but we have to choose to use the self-control that God has given to us. If we need patience, God will not magically zap us with supernatural patience to be used whenever needed. Instead, He will give us opportunities to practice using the patience that is available to us.
The key thing to remember is that we have to decide to use it and trust that God will help us with anything that we ask Him for. There is no need to depend on the things of this world to provide for us. Everything we need comes from Him, providing we are obedient to His Word. Furthermore, God knows exactly what we need and when we need it, which does not always line up with what we think we need or want. Only God has “pro-vision”: the perfectly wise insight to know what we truly need in our lives in order to help us grow in our faith and become more like Christ. He knows that giving us too much of what we want and too little of what we need will lead us to being overly focused on earthly treasures instead of eternal rewards, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:21).
Trust in the promises of God’s Word, which are so liberating, comforting and encouraging to those who believe them. Whatever your situation may be, God will provide for you as you continue to worship and trust Him. The key is to be content in whatever situation He places you in, and with whatever resources He makes available to you, so that you will honestly be able to say “The LORD is my shepherd, I lack nothing” (Psalm 23:1).