“And the whole congregation of the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness, and the people of Israel said to them, ‘Would that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.’ Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Behold, I am about to rain bread from heaven for you, and the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in my law or not. On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather daily.’ In the evening quail came up and covered the camp, and in the morning dew lay around the camp. And when the dew had gone up, there was on the face of the wilderness a fine, flake-like thing, fine as frost on the ground. Morning by morning they gathered it, each as much as he could eat; but when the sun grew hot, it melted.” (v2-5,13-14,21)
There is a lot to be said regarding God’s provision for his people, both in the Bible and in our lives today. “Provider” is one of the key roles that only God can fulfill to the utmost of its definition. Culture teaches that one measure of success is how well/much we can provide for ourselves, however, the Bible has a very different perspective – it claims that all provision comes from God, even the provision that we “earn” (remember that in Gen 1&2 God created all things, including food-bearing plants/animals). The word provide/provision is used roughly 160 times in the Bible, which indicates that this is an important concept to grasp.
First, there are two common definitions of provision. One definition (as a verb) is to meet an immediate (usually physical) need through giving something (v. t. “To supply with food; to victual; as, to provision a garrison.”). The second commonly used definition (as a noun) is the advance preparation of something for future use/receipt (n. “That which is provided or prepared; that which is brought together or arranged in advance; measures taken beforehand; preparation.”) God does both of these things, meeting immediate needs in the moment (eg. bread from heaven or healing in the moment) and He puts provisions in place for future benefit (eg. in Gen 3 God promises to resolve the sin issue roughly 4000 years prior to Jesus coming to earth).
Back to our culture of self-reliance – growing up we quickly learn that “money doesn’t grow on trees” and we are to “make hay while the sun shines”, “earn our keep” and “bring home the bacon”. Though there is truth to those adages, scripture indicates that even work is a provision from God (“The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.” [Gen. 2:15]). Kind of like gravity is a natural law that God put in place, wages/reaping is a natural result of our work (“Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.” [Gal 6:7]). If we sow good works, we will reap benefits, and vice versa. So, logically, even provision as a result of our sowing/working still comes from God, since He created these systems of natural outcomes/consequences.
Despite what we’d like to believe about ourselves, we are not the providers for our own needs. Even our future provisions (investments, education, RRSPs, donations, teaching, raising children, etc.) are derived from gifts, abilities, time, money and energy that are entrusted to us by God. Not one thing that we have, is our own, God has given it all to us – “God blessed them and said to them… Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground… I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food.” (Gen 1:28-29 abr) We create/earn nothing in this life that was not first created by God and entrusted to our care – we are God’s stewards, keepers of His provision/property/people.
Of course, we can’t talk about God’s provision without getting back to the ultimate one: “All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Cor 5:18-19a,21) God’s provision of a permanent solution to sin – the Lamb of God, our living sacrifice, Jesus Christ, Son of God, through whom we have been graciously given forgiveness and eternal life, in exchange for sin’s just reward.
Father God, provider of all that was, is, and is to come, we praise You. Not only do you meet our needs in the moment through Your abundant provision of food, clothing, shelter, and health, You meet our long-term needs as well. All glory, honor and praise be to You our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who was the ultimate provision for sin – the blood sacrifice that redeemed us from our own wages of sin: spiritual death, an eternal separation from God. Thank you for dying for us, paying that penalty, and providing a doorway to salvation. We could not earn or deserve Your forgiveness Father, which is why You abundantly provided this solution out of Your infinite grace and mercy. Thank you for being who You are – our Lord, our God, our Provider.
~ Conqueror in Training