Man, I love it when God provides in ways that demonstrate He’s in control! The context in which I write is how God has blessed our church in the last two weeks as we were faithful to do what He commanded. Specifically, it was to take our two services and combine into one, thereby bringing two very different generations together in one place to worship.
Now, there is no doubt I did it with some measure of fear and trembling, but I knew that God was in it and He assured me in my spirit that if I would simply lead the people in the direction in which He directed, He would take care of the rest.
In these past two weeks, we have had more new members join than we have experienced in the past six months! We’ve had people coming in from who knows where interested in becoming a part of the church. We’ve seen people responding at the end of services desiring to get their lives in tune with what God wants to do in them. It is absolutely amazing. Strangely, too, is the fact that some of the ones that have put up some of the biggest roadblocks in the past have decided to leave. I say, praise be to God!
There is something to obedience that leads to God’s provision. Yes, I know, that sounds a bit strange to say…should be somewhat obvious…yet I think we often fail to move because we fail to believe God will provide. We see His provision over and over in the delivery of the Children of Israel in Scripture, yet, like them, we often fail to see how God will deliver this time.
In the case of the Exodus, God started right off in the beginning with amazing provision. In Exodus 3, God told Moses that as he explained to the elders what God was going to do for them, he would be heard and believed, regardless of how skeptical Moses might have been about such a prospect. After all, it did sound a bit outlandish, I’m sure.
That’s not the really good one, though. In verse 21, God said that He would “give this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians; and when you go, you shall not go empty, but each woman shall ask of her neighbor, and any woman who lives in her house, for silver and gold jewelry, and for clothing. You shall put them on your sons and on your daughters. So you shall plunder the Egyptians.”
I love that! God is so cool, isn’t He? I mean, wouldn’t you just have to laugh to see 2 million people walking out of Egypt wearing jewelry they had just “plundered” from the Egyptians simply by asking for it, only to look back and see a bunch of people watching them leave with all their stuff while they gleafully wish them bon voyage? It’s great! And that’s how God is! We miss that so often. We fail to trust Him that if we are obedient, He is faithful. Often He delivers even when we’re not, but we miss tremendous blessings that way.
I am encouraged to see how God has been moving in our life and can’t wait to see how He provides even more “spoils” in the future! I hope you will determine to live faithfully in order to receive all of the loot (blessings) of the Victorious One!
Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow. ~James 1:17
