Devotional April 22 2020Devotional April 22
When we look to the Word to see how God provides for His people in times of need, there are many places we can find comfort and assurance. One of the places people can turn to is the books of Exodus-Deuteronomy which detail the Israelites journey from Egypt to the promised land. In spite of the Israelites’ unfaithfulness and sin, we see God remaining faithful to His people. There is discipline for sin, in the fact that they were forced to wander in the wilderness for 40 years because they refused to enter the land of Canaan out of fear. Yet, during this entire time, the Lord was with them via a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night, He provided them manna for food, quail when they desired meat, and brought forth water in a dry and barren land out of a rock. We can find much comfort in the accounts of God’s provision during this time.
There is another, lesser recognized manner in which God provided for the Israelites during their wanderings. In Deuteronomy 29 we see just how complete God’s provision for His people was. “I have led you forty years in the wilderness. Your clothes have not worn out on you, and your sandals have not worn off your feet.” Deuteronomy 29:5 This is an aspect of God’s provision that I had never really thought very much about until I read it this morning. Recently, I have taken up walking around the neighborhood each day and using that time to spend in prayer for my neighbors, my community, etc during this pandemic. I normally walk about 2 to 3 miles each day, weather permitting. And one thing that I have noticed in doing this is how quickly, even after just a month and half, that my shoes seem to be wearing out. Now imagine walking over uneven terrain in sandals for 40 years! What a picture of God’s provision.
This shows us that God is concerned not only with the big picture of our lives, but also in the smaller details. I am, admittedly, not a detail person. I tend to overlook small details or not recognize their importance until such as time as their importance becomes readily apparent. How thankful are you today that God is not like that. Now in all honesty, we are not told exactly what form this provision took during this time. Could it be just as it says, that they wore the same pair of sandals and the same clothing for 40 years and they never wore out? Absolutely! Could it also be that God provided in the tribes of Israel tradesmen who were skilled at making sandals and clothes so that the Israelites would be provided for on this journey? Yes, it could be that as well. Either way, the truth is that God provided through the means and methods that He chose. He saw a detail that needed to be taken care of in order to provide for His people and He took care of it.
God can be trusted during our times of need. Not only does He know and see our apparent needs that can sometime overwhelm us, but when we are overwhelmed by the needs in our lives, God sees beyond them to the most minute details that we don’t even recognize are needs and provides for them as well. Does this mean we will receive everything we think we need, when we think we need it, in the exact form of provision we think we should receive? Absolutely not. If God can be trusted to see details we don’t, and then provide for them, then He can be trusted to provide for our needs in the manner and method in which He sees fit. That is part of faith and trusting in Him.
So, go to Him today with your needs, trusting that He will provide in His way. Then trust that even though it might not seem like it, His ways are better and higher than what we can imagine or hope. He is providing for us, even when we don’t realize or see it. I am sure the Israelites didn’t view being forced to wander in the wilderness 40 years as an opportunity for God to show His provision and care for them. Yet, that is exactly what God did. He can take the direst circumstances and redeem them for His glory. Trust in His provision today.