God Provides – Even When There Is More Month Than Money
Word-Of-The-Day: ‘I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread.’ (Psalm 37:25); ‘If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!’ (Matthew 7:11)
We live in a time where the dollar doesn’t seem like a dollar anymore – and it isn’t. If you bought a ‘gizmo’ in 1974 for a buck, after 50 years of elapsed time buying the same ‘gizmo’ today, according to a ‘time value of money’ calculator on the web (and there are several), it would cost $6.29, a 530% increase. While we can find things that may not have changed in price greatly, other things like cars and housing have jumped significantly, some just over the last couple of years.
Most people, especially those soon after leaving their parents, experience at least once or twice having ‘more month than money’; in times of great inflation or personal turmoil (the loss of a job, an unexpected loss of a home or car) older people can also experience this as well. In some cases, a line of credit can help alleviate this temporarily (paying a bill on time, through a loan or the use of a credit card), but this is a short-term solution and can exasperate the problem if debt and debt payments pile up on top of paying necessities, like utilities and groceries.
Though the value of our money may decrease while our bills continue to increase, we are fortunate that God remains the same. David, in Psalm 37, a Psalm of Wisdom; provides the trust we are to have in the Lord and the promises He has made to His people. God makes His provisions for His people, and His people, the Righteous, in turn ensure their children are taken care of – something Jesus alludes to in Matthew 7 that the unrighteous will do as well.
Those who are earnestly seeking the Lord and have obeyed in accepting Jesus as their Lord will be taken care of, as God promises in Matthew 6:26 and Philippians 4:19. This does not mean that God will necessarily wipe all debt away instantly or provide the winning numbers to the next Powerball drawing, but He will provide a means for basic needs. In the Exodus our of Egypt, God provided manna or bread that fell out of the sky. The Israelites were only to pick up what they needed, or the manna would spoil. This was enough to sustain the Israelites, but they asked for more; God provided them quail as well (Psalm 105:40). The Israelites asked, and God provided; He will provide if the need exists.
There is an expectation that we make an effort, to ‘sweat by our brows’, using the talents the Lord provides to in turn gain the ability to get which we need to live. Our ability to earn money is a provision from God, but when we get into the situation where that isn’t enough, He wants us to come to Him to ask for His help in making ends meet. The Lord wants us to share our burdens as those who have are to share and help those who do not have. As we see the trends of today, with an exploding national and personal debt load with rising prices and wages peaking, we need the Lord more than ever for us not to be prideful in asking for help, and for us to be open and wise in helping others.
