5 minute read
Empowering Lives with Purpose
by Kimberly Ann Hobbs
Provisions
Our holy God is the provider of all our needs. God not only takes care of our physical needs and guides us through life with His careful eye on us, but He also takes care of all our spiritual needs and supplies knowledge to assist our human bodies.
My first glimpse of truly recognizing my heavenly Father as a provider came at a very young age. Through a peculiar story I’d love to share with you, God ingrained a chapter of the Bible into my soul, revealing His provision in a way only He could.
My grandmother lived in a very small old house on a humongous piece of property. As children, we were allowed to play and do whatever we wanted in that old house. My grandmother would fix up different rooms as she had the money to do so, but before she did, we could be mischievous inside without a care in the world. We had the “hang from the chandelier” experiences in that small 2-bedroom cinderblock house.
“Non,” as we called our grandmother, was getting ready to demolish her only existing bathroom, which had a clawfoot tub. True to her nature, she gave us permission to write on whatever we wanted in the confines of that little space. So we did! Over time, my brothers and I covered every inch of that room with uplifting kindness. In our messy children’s printing with permanent magic markers, we graffitied the old white tub and toilet and even climbed on the sink to write on the low-lying ceiling!
Over the span of a year, we artfully decorated that small space every time we visited. We wrote Bible verses, drew pretty pictures, crossed out our mistakes as a child would do, and just kept writing until, eventually, not one space was left. People would go in and just sit and read the interesting walls of the “necessity room,” making it a funny, lasting memory. However, the more important message was inside the humor. When I or anyone else would sit to use the toilet, one of the first things I ever wrote in my first-grade handwriting was staring the occupant in the face: the 23rd Psalm. I had printed it directly across from the toilet, covering the back of the rickety old wooden door. I often slept over with my Non; using that bathroom frequently allowed me to memorize that entire chapter. Just as God planned it in His infinite wisdom, my grandmother didn’t have money to complete the project right away, so it ended up being years that the bathroom remained decorated with our writings and funny pictures— which we thought were masterpieces. Everyone got used to reading the walls and learning scripture when they used the bathroom. It was amazing how much memorization took place in a tiny, old turn-of-the-century bathroom!
Psalm 23 speaks of God’s provision and protection for us. God promises to provide everything we need, and, as the scripture states, He leads us through green pastures beside still waters.
God provides for us both during the harvest and as we walk through the deserts. Our God can supply all our needs according to His riches in glory! And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:19 NLT).
Jesus also instructed us to ask for provisions.
Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. MATTHEW 7:7-8 (NLT)
But we aren’t merely to take all that God provides for us; instead, we are encouraged to thank Him for His provision. May you stop and think about the Provider of your needs and give Him all the praise and thanks He deserves today and every day you live.
Give thanks to the Lord and proclaim his greatness. Let the whole world know what he has done. Sing to him; yes, sing his praises. Tell everyone about his wonderful deeds. PSALM 105:1-2 (NLT)
THE 23RD PSALM — A LINE BY LINE MEANING
The Lord is my Shepherd — RELATIONSHIP
I shall not want — SOURCE
He leads me beside still waters — REST
He restores my soul — HEALING
He guides me in paths of Righteousness — DIRECTION
For His name's Sake — PURPOSE
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death — TESTING
I will fear no evil — PROTECTION
For He is with me — FAITHFULNESS
His rod and staff comfort me — DISCIPLINE AND DIRECTION
He prepares a table before me in the presence of my enemies — HOPE
He anoints my head with oil — CONSECRATION
My cup overflows —ABUNDANCE
Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life — BLESSING
And I will dwell in His house — SECURITY
Forever — ETERNITY
