Wednesday - be encouraged, for our God reigns

God Provides

 

Oh we worship a faithful God.  Read Nehemiah chapter 9.  How many times does it say something the Lord did for the people of Israel?  Over and over again He is compassionate and providential, never forsaking the people.  That chapter is so full of praise.

v. 5 O may Thy glorious name be blessed and exalted above all blessing and praise!

v. 6 Thou alone art the Lord.  Thou hast made the heavens.  The heaven of heavens with all their host.

v. 7 Thou are the Lord God

v. 8 Thou has fulfilled Thy promise.  For Thou art righteous.

v. 10 Then Thou didst perform signs and wonders against Pharaoh

v. 11 Thou didst divide the sea….and their pursuers Thou didst hurl into the depths

v. 12 Thou didst lead them

 

On and on it goes, giving glory and praise to God.  As I read this I was struck by the awesomeness of God and how I take Him lightly.  How dare I do that! 

 

I read vs 25 and I realized something.  

v. 25 And they captured fortified cities and a fertile land.  They took possession of houses full of every good thing, hewn cisterns, vineyards, olive groves, fruit trees in abundance.  So they ate, were filled, and grew fat, and reveled in Thy great goodness.  

 

I know I’ve heard this before but it’s been a while.  When God promised the people He was leading them to a land flowing with milk and honey, the blessed Promised Land, I don’t know what the people thought they were going to receive.  When I was little I just thought they were going to a new chunk of land that God set aside for them and it was going to a nice place.  Then we heard about the giants and biggo grapes and walls falling down and cities being conquered.  Then finally the children of Israel moved in and spread out.  I figured they built houses and started tilling up the land like on Little House on the Prairie.  Well that was not the case at all.  God took them to a very inhabited place, a developed place with established towns.  God gave them houses already built, wells that were already dug, land already full of crops and trees full of food.  They didn’t get the scrap of land no one wanted, that no one had developed.  They got the best real estate around with the furnished condo. 

 

Does God provide?  Boy, does He!  And is God faithful and forgiving?.   Read on.  Read the rest of the chapter and just see how Israel turned their back on God over and over and God received them back over and over with all the love as before.  We cannot understand that love.  We hope for it.  We hope He will be forgiving and merciful.  Save the righteous and holy for later.  Let me see the loving, gracious, faithful God.  We just cannot understand how God can be absolutely, wholly all those things all at once.  But He is. 

V. 31 Nevertheless, in Thy great compassion Thou didst not make an end of them or forsake them.  For Thou art a gracious and compassionate God. 

 

When we are faithful to Him, unashamedly obedient, He provides and blesses.  I’m not preaching prosperity doctrine here.  I’m preaching get yourself right before God, honor Him with your life.  He will take care of the rest.  

 

I like verse 32.  How often do we come before God with requests knowing it is a minor thing in the scope of all the world.  Look at this…"Now therefore, our God, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who dost keep covenant and lovingkindness, do not let all the hardship seem insignificant before Thee."  We do the same as countless millions before. We want the almighty God, Creator of the very universe to step into our little world and help our child make friends, get us a close parking spot, show us money we forgot we had, fix our car, help us sleep well at night.  And you know what?  He does all that and longs to do more.

 

He is faithful and true.  Amen.

 

Be faithful and lead,

Philip Buford