5 Ways to Trust in God’s Provision
To encourage is to inspire another to have courage. A statement made by our pastor at church today.
It spoke to me as I often encourage to enlighten and give hope to others.
Hope, after all, is what we believe when it comes to an exciting event planned or waiting for an answer—hope for a job offer. Hope you get approved for a loan, a proposal, pregnancy, that the weather will be warm for that special family gathering. We rely on hope in our everyday lives.
When it comes to a relationship with Jesus, it’s hope He’ll answer your prayer. Hope, He is with you when you feel troubled, uncertain, or frustrated.
This morning at church, I felt a pang of frustration and discouragement in my heart. We’re in the process of selling our house. We had a couple view the house three times. Each time they stayed for an hour or more. Admittedly, I was getting frustrated as they hadn’t made an offer. Instead, a family, who only saw the house once, made an offer. When the realtor for the couple was contacted, they didn’t submit an offer. I felt a twinge in my heart as it sank in discouragement. So, I gathered my feelings and placed it at the foot of the cross, asking Jesus to remove it, and within minutes, I was singing joyfully in praise to Him.
However, days before, I was disheartened as we desperately needed to sell the house to pay bills piled up like the Eiffel Tower. Both of us unable to secure employment, surviving with loans from others. I told God, ‘this is no way to live, sinking deeper and deeper into debt to pay our monthly obligations’. It’s then I came across an email from Crosswalk Devotionals. The headline, ‘9 Ways to Really Trust in God’s Provision’ that piqued my interest with hope for guidance.
The article was written from an author I enjoy, Cindi McMenamin. Below is a highlight of a few points she made in how to trust that God will provide.
1. You Honor God with the first of all you have
Your role is to be good stewards of your finances. To scrutinize how you spend and give money you earn.
However, in desperate times, you may spend money foolishly. Gambling, or on lotto tickets hoping to win so the mountain of stress regarding finances is removed. I admit, I did this. I bought lottery tickets, hoping I’d win so the nightmare over our finances would be resolved. However, this isn’t how God moves in your life. He desires you to bring the matter to Him. To allow Him to be the manager of your finances. To make Him the consultant in everything you purchase.
If God takes care of all creation, how much more will He take care of you? He loves you so much, He offered His only Son, as a sacrifice so you could have a relationship with Him. He is generous. Through Him you gain wisdom on how to manage your finances.
2. You don’t stress about your day-to-day needs.
Jesus told His followers:
Matthew 7:7-25
“Therefore, I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?”
To fall into the trap of stressing over your financial obligations is easy. I remember when my spouse changed careers to be a long-haul truck driver. The company promised in writing he’d make up to $30,000 a month. We bought a semi-truck, the price equivalent to purchasing a small house, and he began a new career. We factored in the monthly costs, fuel, loan payment, insurance, and with the promised income, we considered ourselves fortunate. The first few months were close to the amount promised, but then the payout become less and less. Whatever money we received; it went back into the truck to pay for fuel. This continued for months. And for the first time in my life, we couldn’t pay the bills. I felt hopeless and broke down in sobs. Within six months, we had to sell the truck.
With God in my life, I now give the stress to Him. However, the key ingredient in giving to God, is that you believe He will take care of you. Which means, you no longer stress or think about the situation, as you place your trust in Him. This is the measure God desires from you. To place everything onto His plate, as to Him, it’s an easy fix. He sees things in a different perspective then you. He knows your heart and what you need.
3. You expect the best from a God who always comes through
There is no doubt that worry, anxiety, and doubt can pick away at your heart and question God’s provision. Instead of believing wholeheartedly that God has your back, you begin to think the absolute worse, especially, when your prayer isn’t answered as quickly as you like.
I caught myself a few times, driven by worry thinking that if the house didn’t sell, we’d have to declare bankruptcy, and start a new life with a zero-bank balance. It was like a wave crashing against my heart sending ripples of fear, causing my heart to race, and leaving God in the dust. In Cindi’s blog, she mentioned when we do this, we are not giving God credit for being the good and loving Father that He is.
In Psalm 37:25-26, David sang:
“I have been young and now I am old,
Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken
Or his descendants begging for bread”
The fact that God watches over you continuously should make your heart leap with joy—knowing you can count on Him. It’s the doubt that separates us from Him. It leads you astray and the further you move away from God, the more you’ll worry.
God is your rock. Your foundation. With Him, all things are possible. I know this to be true as when I experience bouts of resistance, things go awry, and my heart feels heavy. When I’m open in faith and trust, my heart is filled with peace and contentment.
4. You rest peaceably – and don’t strive – when it comes to your finances
Are you independent? Do you have a mindset you can take care of everything on your own? Is your mind constantly focused on work? Do you refuse to have others help you? Do you stay awake at night focused on the finances of your business, or home? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then your self-motivator is pride. You want to do your best, shine your best, be the best. However, no one is perfect. When someone is in your corner, encouraging you, giving you support, the entanglement of your life becomes smoother.
With God in your corner, it means you have to let go of control, submit to His will, with assurance He is your stability and security.
It’s in complete trust in God, giving Him the battle, where you can rest. Never flinching, as you know God is with you, working things out behind the scenes. What a beautiful revelation? Knowing that God Almighty, the creator of all, is lovingly taking care of your every need, so you don’t have to prove to everyone you’re perfect. As in God’s eyes, you’re perfect just the way you are.
5. You trust His ways – and timing – are so much better than yours
Timing is everything. However, it’s also a battle when you want answers now. In some ways, we’re still children asking, “how much longer”, “are we there yet.” To be patient and allow God to work things out in your favour, demonstrates your faith and trust in Him. It’s not an easy path to follow. However, there are reasons why God may not answer as quickly as you like.
This leads to a situation where I applied for a job. I possessed the skills, was excited for the opportunity, and heart broken when I didn’t get the job. I questioned why God didn’t provide for me. I later found out the owner was difficult to work with.
God knows my heart and is aware I’ve experienced a number of employers who were unkind. He didn’t want to place me in an environment knowing it would hinder my spiritual journey in getting to know and love Him more.
There is always a reason. You may not understand the reasons, but God knows the why and the when.
This leads to a story our Pastor shared at church recently. When he was eight years old, his family was on holidays. A Police Officer pulled them over. When he approached, he suggested to his father that perhaps his wife should drive. There was no valid reason why he suggested this. They switched as instructed, proceeded down the highway for about fifteen minutes, then stopped as they came across a serious motor vehicle accident. The police officer that stopped them never passed to attend the scene.
Time is precious. Each delay can save your life. I always think of this when I get delayed by a slow driver or interrupted by a phone call as I’m about to head out the door to do errands.
In the above scenario, God provided a delay to protect them as it wasn’t their time to come home.
He walks before you and knows your time on earth is short.
This rang true regarding the sale of our house. I reached a point where I was getting depressed. So, I asked God to be in charge, to take the reins of getting an offer for our house. The very next day, we received an offer.
God is so good!
He is faithful to His word. He is your rock, fortress, provider, and protector. You can rest assured that He has your best interests of heart, and He will never forsake you.
There will be times you may question his provision and wonder why it didn’t work out the way you hoped. In your journey as God’s child, events occur according to His plan, not yours. He desires your submission. You may not want to hear that as most of us want to be the driver of our life, however, it’s the truth. Remember God and His son, Jesus, know your heart. Their goal is to mold you to be like Jesus. This involves removing layers in your heart that keep you bound to the world. God’s intention is for you to forget about the world and think only of His Son.
It’s through Jesus and scripture you become transformed to how God sees you. One of the best ways, is to believe God will always provide for you as written in Matthew 7:7-25 above. (A short interruption reader. I have to share—at this moment the song playing on my iPhone is, “God is an Awesome God”, amazing!)
God is an awesome God! He is merciful. He is wonderful. And He loves you.
When you place your faith and trust in Him to be your provider, He will deliver. The awareness that He has your back is a comfort to keep focused, wanting more of Him, and living without worry, anxiety, or fear, as you have the Almighty God and His Son, Jesus, leading you down a path to transform your fears, increase your faith, and to place your trust in their hands.
Interested in learning more, check out Cindi McMenamin book titled “Letting God Meet Your Emotional Needs.”
God Bless,
Hi, I’m Cathy.
A blogger, photographer, author, passionately driven to pointing people away from new age indoctrination to find redemption in Jesus Christ.
I’m a mixed blend, excited to share all I offer...
Blog-Twisted Roots
Do you find yourself asking questions about new age, whether the practices and beliefs are leading your soul to redemption?
As a reformed new ager, I was saturated in the belief I could co-create with the universe and manifest a life of abundance. But I was deceived. This blog is to point you to the truth of God’s words and how He perceives the new age indoctrination.
Fine Art Photography
I always dreamed of being a professional photographer when I grew up. It was a journey to reach this goal, but I did it!
I owned a home-based studio for over a decade but have been shooting images for two decades. Now, semi-retired, I have a collection of my most cherished images of landscape or nature available for wall décor.
