God will use different people at different times to meet different needs in your life. He used Pharaoh to feed the Israelites. Imagine that! When famine hit, He led His people down to Egypt and made Pharaoh feed them for 400 years. Get this: when you ask God for something, don’t dictate to Him who He’ll use to meet your need.
Notice the words of Jesus: “Shall men give into your bosom” (Luke 6:38). When God wants to bless you, sometimes He’ll send a person! But if you’re too proud to accept their help, you won’t get it. Or, if you limit Him to working through people you know or like, you’ll miss the boat again. God used Pharaoh because Pharaoh’s not the kind of guy you’re apt to fall in love with. God doesn’t want you getting hooked on anybody but Him. He can bless you through your boss, the IRS, the car dealer, the mortgage lender, or even those who mean you no good!
It was betrayal by his brothers that eventually caused Joseph to become Prime Minister of Egypt. People will enter your life and people will leave it. Praise God when they come and praise Him when they go, and remind yourself: “If He blessed me before, He can do it again.”
Egypt only became a problem when God’s people stayed there too long! Don’t lean on the arm of the flesh too long, or the instrument of your blessing can become an idol (or a source of control). And that’s a problem, for God said: “You shall have no other Gods before me.”
Tags: Egypt, provision, Spiritual Blessings
Bible teacher and author F. B. Meyer was asked to speak to passengers while crossing the Atlantic on a ship many years ago. An agnostic listened to Meyer’s message about answered prayer and told a friend, “I didn’t believe a word of it.”
Later that same day, the agnostic went to hear Meyer speak to another group of passengers. But before he went to the meeting, he put two oranges in his pocket. On his way, he passed and elderly woman who was fast asleep in her deck chair. Her arms were outstretched and her hands were wide open, so as a joke he put the two oranges in her palms. After the meeting, he saw the woman happily eating one of the pieces of fruit.
“You seem to be enjoying that orange,” he remarked with a smile. “Yes, sir,” she replied, “My Father is very good to me.” “What do you mean?” pressed the agnostic. She explained, “I have been seasick for days. I was asking God somehow to send me an orange. I fell asleep while I was praying. When I awoke, I found He had sent me not only one but two oranges!” The agnostic was amazed by the unexpected confirmation of Meyer’s talk on answered prayer.
Before the trip was over he had put his trust in Christ. How has God provided for you?
Tags: prayer, provision
A Romanian pastor told the story of when his small kitten became stranded in a tree. To get it down, the pastor threw a rope over the branch and tied it to his car’s bumper. Driving slowly forward, he pulled the branch down to within reach. Just then the rope snapped and the frightened feline went flying through the air and was nowhere to be found.
The next day the pastor met a neighbor. “You’ll never believe what happened yesterday!” she exclaimed. “My little girl had been begging for a kitten, but I told her she could hav one only if Jesus gave it to her. So she ran outside, knelt down, and prayed, ‘Jesus, please give me a kitty of my very own to love and care for. Amen.’ Just then a kitten with paws outstretched fell right out of heaven!”
The Lord works in mysterious ways and He can for you, as well. Ask Him.
Tags: miracle, prayer, provision
One of the friends that I have connected with over the years in CMI is Pastor Harold. Harold pastors a small independent church in the hills of Pennsylvania. He has an earned Doctorate in missiology (Missions) and has traveled to many countries. He has written several books that have been published. He has pastored this church for over twenty years. Often we’ve talked about his frustration with his small church and his inability to motivate his people for missions.
But Pastor Harold is a very humble man and has never made a lot of money. Now in his fifties, he lives in the church parsonage and has no plan for retirement; he just trusts God.
He took me aside this week at our conference to tell me of his excitement. He had an aunt that died and left him her house. A nice house. On Treasure Lake! In the mountains! Mortgage free! For the first time he is able to offer his wife security in their retirement. God is so good!
Tags: provision
The story is told about a farmer joking with a government inspector in the old Soviet Union. It seems one day a government official came to a farmer and inquired about the year’s potato crop. “Oh, it was wonderful,” the farmer replied slyly. “It was so big it reached up to the very foot of God.”
The commissar’s countenance quickly changed. With a scowl, he said, “But comrade, this is a communist state and we are atheists. You must not forget, there is no God!”
“Ah, that’s my point,” the farmer replied. “No God – no potatoes!”
Believe it or not, God is the source of all things (Psalm 136:25). The apostle Paul told a group of unbelievers, “In Him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28). God does provide as we acknowledge Him.
Tags: atheist, potato, provision
An old legend tells of a reunion St. Francis of Assisi arranged in Italy’s Umbrian mountains for some of his Franciscan brothers. When they arrived one of them said, “God was so good to me. When my mule lost its footing on a narrow bridge, God saved me from falling over the edge into a deep gorge.” Everyone rejoiced.
A second brother said, “God was extremely kind to me also. While I was crossing a river, the current swept me away. I would have drowned had God not provided a fallen tree for me to grab.” Again there was great rejoicing.
Hearing those two miraculous stories, the brothers asked St. Francis to report on his journey to the reunion. He said, “I too thank God for His wonderful works. I experienced a fantastic miracle from Him on the way. He gave me a smooth, pleasant, completely uneventful trip.”
Some miracles we don’t even notice. What miracle has God done for you lately?
Tags: miracle, provision
A tourist got separated from his tour group in the Sahara. He begged a passing nomad for water. “Sorry,” said the tribesman, “I have no water, but I do have some lovely neckties I’ll sell you.”
“You must be crazy,” the tourist mumbled. Nearly dead from thirst, he spied another man. “Water!” the tourist gasped. “Please, give me water.”
“I have no water,” came the reply, “only these handsome neckties, which I will happily sell you.”
The wretched tourist stumbled on until, to his surprise, he saw a grand hotel in the distance. Crawling into the foyer, he cried, “Please – give me water!”
“Sorry, sir,” the concierge replied. “We don’t let anyone in without a necktie.”
Could it be that the thing we’ve been rejecting in life is actually what God has sent to prepare us for the future?
Tags: humor, prayer, provision