Are you waiting for God to provide everything you need?
There have been times in my life when I have wanted God to swoop in and fix everything. I’ve wanting Him to work everything out for me without me having to do anything. To my disappointment God has not done this for me.
I’ve also struggled with having gifts and talents but not seeing Him open doors for me to use them?
Over the years these types of situations have confused and frustrated me. After all, doesn’t the Bible say that God will provide all our needs?
After leaving Egypt the Israelites wandered in the desert. It didn’t take long for them to start complaining and want to return to Egypt. God heard their complaints and He provided food for them. In Numbers 11:7-9 we read about God providing manna for the Israelites.
The manna looked like small coriander seeds and the Israelites would collect from the ground every morning. God provided for the people and made sure they did not starve. But when we take a closer look at this passage, we see that after they collected the seeds, they then needed to grind them up to make flour and then boil it for it to be made into cakes.
God provided for their needs but there was something they needed to do with it before they could fully benefit from it. Our God is one who generously provides for us, but He also doesn’t do everything for us. God gives us the opportunity to co-labour with Him.
Sometimes we would like God to do everything for us. We pray that He will fix situations or provide us with this or that, but God doesn’t always do that. The majority of the time He is inviting us to be a part of what He is doing. If God just fixed everything for us, we would not get the opportunity to learn and grow through the situation. If God provided everything for us, we wouldn’t get the opportunity to use the wisdom and creativity He gave us to work out how we can survive.
God doesn’t do this to be mean or make our life hard, He does this so we will grow and learn. Our relationship with Him is a two-way street. We both get to participate. Imagine if God had given you the gift of a beautiful singing voice but you never used it because you were waiting for Him to provide the opportunity for you to use it. God gives us gifts for us to explore and enjoy. If He placed us on a stage in front of thousands of people when we were not ready we may not have the strength of character to handle the situation. We may have also missed out on all the smaller opportunities to grow along the way.
Even if God does provide amazing opportunities, we still need to step into them. There is an effort we need to make in order for those opportunities to be fruitful.
Our journey of faith is an active one. We get the opportunity to co-labour with the God of the universe and see His plans fulfilled. We really are in such a privileged position to be able to do this.
I wonder if God is providing you with opportunities without dotting all the i’s and crossing all the t’s. He may instead be looking for you to engage and get involved.
Have you been waiting for God to do everything in your situation when He has provided all you need to step out?
Lord,
Thank You that You are my provider. Thank you also for the opportunity for me to co-labour with You. Please open my eyes to the opportunities around me and give me the courage to step into them.
Amen
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