All You’ll Ever Need

The LORD said to Moses, “I have heard the grumbling of the Israelites. Tell them, ‘At twilight you will eat meat, and in the morning you will be filled with bread. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God.’ That evening quail came and covered the camp, and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. When the dew was gone, thin flakes like frost on the ground appeared on the desert floor. When the Israelites saw it, they said to each other, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was. Moses said to them, “It is the bread the LORD has given you to eat. Exodus 16:11–15

I believe that God can be trusted. Not just with your “spiritual” life however we might try to separate that out from your “other” life, but with every aspect of your life; the good, the bad, the messy, the incomplete – the pieces that you might not fully trust that God really will provide what we need. I am convinced that God will provide all you ever need.

As much as I believe that, it is hard to get others to believe it (by believe, I mean active belief, belief that is evidenced by our your life choices). Despite the Bible’s repeated assurances of this reality, it was hard for me to get to believe it too. I have shared many times my journey of transformation in the foundry of sickness, where all of the things that I trusted in were shown to be impostors incapable of providing the things I was trusting them for. As I lived in the reality of very possibly dying in my 30’s with young kids and me the sole breadwinner, I looked around and found that the only trust remaining was God. The result was not despair, but freedom. And joy, peace, compassion. I was transformed by trusting God after being a Christian for more than 20 years without ever experiencing this level of trust. I am grateful for the gift that he gave me in the midst of this dark season.

So, how does this relate to you? I am convinced that if you move into active trust of God’s promise to provide all you ever need, you will experience a non anxious life with greater fullness than you thought possible.

As I said on Sunday, you can wait until God gives you the life situation where he is all you need because he is all you have left, but I do not recommend that. Or, you can move into it by choosing to step into activities that require active trust. How do you do this? By putting yourself in situations where you cannot rely upon yourself alone, but need to rely on him. This is the purpose of spiritual disciplines – fasting, scripture, prayer, connection to the poor, silence, solitude, etc. We cannot fully do any of these things on our own power, they all require the power and presence of God to do their work in us. And they all require time.

Do you want experience the reality that God will provide all you ever need? If so, what are you gong to do? What disciplines might you add? Let me know. Maybe you should join a small group? Maybe you should participate in Deep Waters? Maybe you should get together with another person or two and commit to gather to a rhythm of disciplines and then check in and hold each other accountable.

I am not responsible for your spiritual growth, you are. I and those you do life with are responsible for creating the atmosphere and space where you can grow. The ball is in your court — God is inviting you to his extraordinary way.

Peace, hope and love

Doug