God Provides

We worry. We worry about money. We worry about food. We worry about our safety. I worry about my health from time to time. I used to worry a lot more what people thought of me. But this worry isn't necessary, and usually is not even helpful. 

Historically... 

God has always and will always provide for his people. Look at the Scriptures from the beginning. He gave Adam and Eve the Garden. He provided a way of escape for Noah and his family. He save the firstborn at Passover. He provided Manna and Quail in the wilderness. He kept his people alive through captivity. He shut the lions' mouths to protect Daniel. He even sacrificed his son to provide for us. Point is, God cares for his people and has an excellent track record of providing for his faithful. 

In this world, we are promised that we are going to be persecuted. Matthew 10 speaks of this persecution where even brother will lead brother to death. Christ tells them to move on to the next city and keep preaching. They were not to worry even about their own safety, only that they remained faithful and kept preaching the word. Then we read vs. 28-31 in Matthew Chapter 10:

"And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs on your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows." 

Furthermore, we don't have to worry about whether we will be fed and clothed. This isn't to be confused with the health and wealth gospel of TV preachers, but we will have what we NEED. What we must have to survive will be cared for. Anything over that is unnecessary. Again, Jesus uses the illustration of birds to show that God will provide for his people in Matthew 6:25 through verse 34. 

"Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about you life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air. They neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?:' or 'What shall we wear?' For the Gentiles seek after all these things and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble."

Where I am in life, I have a lot of worries about my future. Many at my age find themselves right out of college, unemployed, no plans, student debt, no clear path. That lack of clarity is scary. But one verse that always helped me look forward was Romans 8:28 "...for those who love God all things work together for good." That doesn't mean that anything that happens to me is good, but that the whole of things that happens will turn out well. Any time that I had something serious going on in life or work, my dad always told me that these things just have a way of working themselves out. I don't need to worry about my path. Everything will work together for the good, and it actually has. There is a certain peace in relying on God and trusting that he will provide for us. 

Bear one another's burdens

We need to rely on God, but God's providence sometimes comes in the form of our brothers and sisters in Christ. We are told to "bear one another's burdens" in Galatians 6. Burdens can be spiritual, mental, or physical, and we need to be there for one another no matter what our brothers' needs are. That is why the church is such a great community to be a part of. I know that if I ever needed anything, that my spiritual family will be there to provide, and they have. When I was in limbo between buying the house I'm in now and construction already beginning on the house I was in, I moved in with the Millers for a couple of weeks. Without that, I would have survived, but they made my burden so much lighter. In Matthew 25:40 in the parable of the Final Judgement the King answers "Truly I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me." 

   

That goes two ways. We also need to work on letting others bear our burdens. Pride often keeps us from letting others know that we are weak in this or that area, but we need to suck it up.  We need to put our burdens on one another and pick up our brothers' burdens. It isn't all on the elders or the preacher.  We don't pay a preacher so that he will do these things. We pay him because he devotes his life to doing those things. But the preacher isn't the only one who bears the responsibility. The elders are not the ones who bear the responsibility.  That responsibility is on us all. So, bear one another's burdens, and make your burdens known to the church. You will be provided for by God and his servants.