05292021 God's Provision

Dear Missionary Lady,

Greetings in the name of the God with the biggest hands in the world. His hands are able to supply greatly for all of His creation, including His children.

Lesson #40. God declares His own provision. God had spoken to Job about His characteristics of wisdom and power. The third topic He addresses is His provision. “Wilt thou hunt the prey for the lion? Or fill the appetite of the young lions, when they couch in their dens, and abide in the covert to lie in wait? Who provideth for the raven his food? when his young ones cry unto God, they wander for lack of meat” (38:39-41).

In speaking of His provision, God gives just two examples. The first is of the lions. The lions hunt their prey, but they would be unable to find food if God did not provide it. A lion pride consists of approximately 15 lions, all of which need to be fed from the results of their hunt. A lion can eat up to sixty pounds of meat at one time. Without God providing the food, lions would die of starvation. The second example is of the ravens. Ravens are scavengers that are constantly searching for food. Just like all other birds, young ravens must be fed by their parents who embark on a time-consuming quest to find food. Each raven eats an average of two pounds of food daily. Ravens are common birds that live in a wide variety of habitats all around the world, including some that seem to have few resources. God provides enough food for each raven. In fact, at one point in history, the ravens had enough surplus food to sustain Elijah.

While God shares only these two examples, the Bible is filled with other examples that speak of God's provision for the animal kingdom. Psalm 104 has as its theme God’s care of the earth. “These wait all upon thee; that thou mayest give them their meat in due season” (Psalm 104:27). The New Testament contributes as well. “Consider the ravens: for they neither sow nor reap; which neither have storehouse nor barn; and God feedeth them: how much more are ye better than the fowls?” (Luke 12: 24). It isn't just the large birds that God cares for. He also looks out for the tiny sparrows that are plentiful everywhere. “Are not five sparrows sold for two farthing, and not one of them is forgotten before God?” (Luke 12: 6). God provides for all the birds, and He says that His children are even more precious than the birds, so surely He will care for them also.

God provides for all types of human needs. “But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19). God provides for physical, spiritual, emotional, social, and any other kind of need. When it comes to spiritual needs, “his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness” (2 Peter 1:3). Psalm 23 shares how God provides for every type of need. The complete provision is summarized this way: “The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want” (Psalm 23:1). The needs are physical in verse 2, consisting of food and water. The needs are spiritual in verse 3, as He restores the soul. He also provides for guidance (v. 3). God meets emotional needs by giving comfort and calming fears (v. 4). God provides necessities even in the presence of enemies, He gives an abundance of blessing, and His unending goodness and kindness last throughout all of life (vs. 5-6). Finally, God provides eternal security through a forever home with Him (v. 6).

For those who are in trials, it is very important that God provides. People in trials have many needs on many levels. They cannot meet their own needs, and others fail to meet their needs as well, as they did in Job’s case. The bottom line is that people need God desperately. Only He can truly provide for them.

God argued His ability to provide by giving examples from the animal kingdom. This is quite an effective argument. There are nearly 8 billion people in the world. Among animals for which semi-reliable numbers can be provided, that 8 billion figure is approached by adding just the top ten: cows, pigs, sheep, dogs, goats, rabbits, cats, water buffalo, horses, and donkeys. Even this statistic is extremely misleading, because it primarily reflects domesticated animals only. Rats alone are estimated at 7-14 billion, with about the same number of mice, and bats could be even more. It is estimated that microscopic bacteria represent over thirty times the members of the animal kingdom. If God provides for all of those, which He does, He is easily able to provide for His children who are much fewer in number.

May God abundantly provide your every need this week. He is so able!

Love in Christ,

Peggy Holt

member at Open Door Baptist Church in Lebanon, PA