At 16, I was living on my own. I wasn’t in school, had no job and no prospects. One day, I found myself with no food and only 25 cents in my pocket. I walked to the nearby convenience store and bought myself a popsicle (yes, I am that old), for supper. I had no idea what I would do tomorrow. I felt like I lived in a constant bubble of loneliness and anxiety.

What will I wear? What will I drink? What will I eat?

The Israelites wandered in the desert for 40 years because of their lack of faith in the LORD. He had offered them a platter filled with all their needs and desires, a land flowing with milk and honey, ready built homes, flocks and herds, but they refused to trust him.

He had just delivered them from slavery, divided the Red Sea and brought them through on dry land, yet they still doubted his ability and willingness to provide and protect them.

Therefore, the LORD listened to them, and allowed them to wander in the desert. Yet even in their rebellion against him, the LORD provided for them and their descendants for 40 years as they roamed about in that dusty wasteland. For 40 years their clothes stayed intact and their sandals never wore out.

Don’t you hate it when you have a favourite outfit or pair of shoes and then they wear out, get stained or you outgrow them? Wouldn’t it be nice if they always looked new and fit? Maybe, or would we get bored with them and grumble?

What about never having to go to the grocery store, but waking up to your food right outside your door?

The LORD provided manna for the Israelites, and even meat on occasion, every day for 40 years. Heavenly DoorDash! They didn’t have to work for it, plant it or take care of it. They only had to pick it up. The manna contained all the nutrients they needed, and it even tasted good. But they grumbled.

I can’t point fingers. I am a bit of a weird duck and don’t like to eat the same thing every day. Much to the annoyance of my husband and my sons when they were growing up.

In Matthew 6: 25-34, Jesus spoke to thousands of people, of different ages, sexes, nationalities, and religions, about their lack of trust in God. He knew they were mostly following him in the hope of being fed again and released from the oppression of the Roman government. So, he taught them how God provides for all of creation abundantly, such as birds and flowers, but we are more valuable to him than anything else in creation.

The LORD knows our needs, after all, he created us. Our #1 job in life is to;

“seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness.”

When we seek the LORD and his way, everything else will be provided for us. Maybe not the way we want or expect, but he will take care of us and be with us.

When those who rejected God and his way all died off in the desert, Joshua and Caleb—the only two who trusted the LORD—and the Israelite descendants boldly and courageously walked into the promised land and prospered. God went before them, fought for them and provided beyond their imaginations. I mean, have you ever seen a cluster of grapes so big you needed two people to carry it?

Even though I didn’t always follow God’s way, in my own convoluted and confused way, I had been seeking him and his righteousness since I was a young girl. Now, even though it took many more years before I knew what that meant, the LORD provided for that young girl, teenager and woman, more than she deserved or often knew, at the time, because of HIS faithfulness.

We don’t have to worry about tomorrow, next week, or the next year. If we are in Christ, he is sufficient to meet all our needs and provide what our hearts and souls really want, an eternal, intimate relationship with him.

Beloved, what are you anxious about today? What are you worried about for tomorrow, and tomorrow? What do you fear next year will hold? Take it all and put it into the hands of your LORD. He is more than capable of holding and protecting you. Spill it all out to him and let him fill you instead with his amazing love and joy. He is able and willing to carry it all for you. An abundance of freedom awaits you!

Be well!

Patricia