As we soldier on through what some people
are now calling
The Great Recession, the question we may
be asking ourselves is this: is God still
good? Will he provide? Can we trust him?
Long ago, God’s people had nothing—they
were slaves in Egypt and had been for
centuries. Yet God heard their cries and
rescued them. God’s people referred to him
as Yahweh, or Jehovah, a Hebrew word that
basically means “I am.” When Moses asked God
what he should say to Pharaoh about which
God was sending him with an audacious
message to free the enslaved Israelites, God
said, “Tell him that I AM sent you.”
God is referred to Elohim in the first
chapter of Genesis, a word that reflects his
role as Creator and sustainer of life. We
first see the word Yahweh or Jehovah in
Genesis 2:4, which refers to “Jehovah Elohim.”
Just as we call God “Heavenly Father,” or
“Lord” or “Holy Spirit,” the Israelites also
had names that referred to specific
characteristics of God or named his
attributes. One of these was Jehovah-Jirah,
which means the Lord will provide. (see
Genesis 22:14).
So the question I’m wrestling with these
days is this: Is Jehovah-Elohim still
Jehovah-Jirah? Does God still provide, and
if so, how?
I have friends who are unemployed,
friends who are praying over their son in a
cancer ward. I have friends whose marriages
are crumbling, or whose finances are very
shaky. In times like these, the question on
each of our hearts is this: will God
provide? Will he come through?
I feel our family is so blessed—I have
healthy children, a roof overhead, food on
the table. God has brought my husband and me
through some really rough patches in our 20
years together, but right now, we’re
strong—though far from perfect. Still, we
have challenges. Our income is less than
half of what it was a few years ago, our
savings have dwindled—and we have kids
heading to college in a few years.
It is very tempting to listen to the
insistent whispers of the voice of fear in
our heads. Or to attend the pity party over
unfinished projects around the house,
cutbacks I’ve had to make in my
entertainment and clothing budget. My
husband and I are both self-employed, so our
income is not exactly steady. He’s a
realtor, an industry where he has watched
colleagues declare bankruptcy, or lose their
homes to foreclosure.
This month, we didn’t have enough in the
checking account to pay both the mortgage
and the credit card bill (which we pay each
month in full, and use for household
necessities like groceries and gas). We
figured we would have to just make a minimum
payment on the credit card. But Friday, a
check I’d been waiting for from my publisher
came in the mail, with enough to cover those
bills, and then some.
It was not a large check (the publishing
industry has also been hit by the
recession). But it was enough, for now. This
has happened over and over again. You’d
think I would get the point by now. God has
provided for me, one day at a time, for
quite a while now.
(An important caveat—the check came from
my publisher because I had worked, because I
had completed a project. I did not expect
him to provide while I sat back and just
waited. Sometimes God provides resources,
but often he provides opportunities for us
to earn those resources.)
There are times when I wish God would
send his provision all at once—a big check
that would cover all my needs, quite a few
of my wants, plus college tuition for my
kids. But instead, God sends provision as
needed, like manna.
When the Israelites wandered the desert,
they complained of hunger, saying it would
be better to go back to being slaves, where
at least they could eat. In response to this
grumbling, God sends them food—quail for
meat, and manna for bread. Each day, the
manna would appear with the dew on the
desert floor, and the people were told to
gather enough for their household, not for a
week or a month, but for one day.
One day’s worth of food when you are
starving, when there is nothing but sand and
rocks around you? Take what you need but
leave the excess to melt on the ground? Not
surprisingly, some of the people gathered
more than their share, hoarding it
overnight, disobeying God’s command. In the
morning, they found their hoarded manna
rotted and full of maggots.
What if this is how God provides—with
just enough for each day? Jesus told us to
pray not for our monthly or yearly bread,
but our daily bread. What if God is feeding
us with manna? And what if—this may be a
stretch, but I think it’s possible—that is
the way we will learn to trust?
God also provides us with spiritual
strength, with emotional provisions. Not all
his gifts are financial. But all of his
gifts are good.
If you are one who has enough, or maybe a
little more than enough, it may be that
Jehovah-Jirah wants to provide for someone
through you. An acquaintance of mine
has a child with severe health problems. The
medical bills are piling up, and their
little girl still needs surgery. Their very
old car also needed tires and other repairs.
Her husband’s annual bonus, which would have
covered the repairs, was cut in half by his
company. But Jehovah-Jireh provided, just in
time, through another family that listened
to God. Read the whole story here:
http://danicajean.blogspot.com/2010/04/meeting-with-dr-cohen-other-opinions.html
Another reader on Facebook told me about
a “manna journal” her family kept after her
husband got laid off. They ended up
receiving more from generous gifts than he
had earned as a pastor!
These stories bring up this important
point: God uses people to provide. Even as
you have your own struggles, God may be
asking you to trust him enough to help
someone else. Trust that he will replenish
and provide, one day at a time.
Quotable
"I have received full payment and even
more; I am amply supplied, now that I have
received from Epaphroditus the gifts you
sent. They are a fragrant offering, an
acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God.
And my God will meet all your needs
according to his glorious riches in Christ
Jesus."
~The Apostle Paul, to the church at Philippi
(Phil. 4:18-19)
Deeper
Connection
The Bible says God will meet all our
needs (see verse above). But what are our
needs (as opposed to our wants)? How can we
tell the difference between the two? Where
have you seen God provide for your needs
recently?
Have you ever allowed God to use you to
help provide for someone else? What was that
like?
Book Reviews
Crazy
Love
by Francis Chan
Retail Price: $14.99
Amazon Price: $8.99
In this amazing book, pastor and author
Francis Chan invites us to fall in love with
God—and not in a half-hearted, (luke)warm
fuzzy sort of way.
As he writes in the preface: “the core
problem isn’t the fact that we’re lukewarm,
halfhearted, or stagnant Christians. The
crux of it all is why we are this way, and
it is because we have an inaccurate view of
God.”
This book challenged me to really think
about the impact of my life, and whether I
am just fitting God into the corners of a
busy life, or living for him. To risk and to
trust. Chan invites his readers to be
generous, not to earn God’s favor, but out
of love for God and our neighbor. He urges
us to takes steps away from our material
security to really trust God.
Chan writes, “if life were stable, I’d
never need God’s help. Since it’s not, I
reach out for Him regularly. I am thankful
for the unknowns and that I don’t have
control, because it makes me run to God.”
Chan and his family live out their
beliefs in tangible ways. They moved from a
large house to one half its size, so that
they could give more money away. Chan
advocates radical discipleship, but says,
“Lukewarm people are moved by stories about
people who do radical things for Christ, yet
they do not act. They assume such action is
for ‘extreme’ Christians, not average ones.
Lukewarm people call ‘radical’ what Jesus
expected of all His followers.”
Chan challenges us to give of our time
and resources to further the kingdom but
notes “Giving that is not motivated by love
is worth nothing.
How can we give in the way that Chan
suggests? I think we will only do so if we
believe that God will meet our needs, that
he will provide the manna along the way to
sustain us.
Keri will lead a
retreat on “Listen: Finding God in the Story
of Your Life” for the women of Orchard Grove
Community church in Walled Lake, MI, June
4-5, 2010.
Keri will be speaking
at the Karitos Festival of the Arts July
15-17, at Living Waters Church, Bolingbrook,
IL. Learn more and register at
www.karitos.com.
Keri’s fall speaking
calendar is filling up. It’s possible to
“piggy-back” events near each other, so if
you are located near any of the already
scheduled events you may want to consider
having Keri speak at your event on the same
trip. For details, contact her at
www.keriwyattkent.com/speaking.htm
Fall events:
Sept. 14:
Rockford, IL--speaking at First Free Church
MOPS meeting.
September 17-18:
Charlotte, NC—Deep Breathing for the Soul
retreat.
September 25: Downers
Grove, IL—Rest: Living in Sabbath Simplicity
keynote at event.
October 1-3: Junction
City, KS—Listen retreat.
October 14:
Indianapolis, IN—Simple Compassion keynote
at church event.
October 22: Wheaton,
IL—One of several authors speaking at event.
October 30: Chicago,
IL—Simple Compassion workshop at
Breakthrough Urban Ministries.
November 8: Marietta,
GA—Rest: Living in Sabbath Simplicity
keynote at event.
