The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing,
majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of
him and what came to my mind and heart in Luke 22:35-36,
"Then Jesus asked them, 'When I sent you without purse, bag or
sandals, did you lack anything?' 'Nothing,' they answered. He said to
them, 'But now if you have a purse, take it, and also a bag; and if
you don't have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one.'"
It is often thought that those who rely on the Lord most completely
are the spiritual ones most completely. We often hear it said that we
just need to move ahead and trust the Lord to provide. Sometimes I
have heard it said it is a matter of faith that we move ahead
unprepared. I've seen this in a shortage of building funds: go ahead
with the addition even though there isn't money. A shortage of funding
for a new staff member at our church: go ahead and hire that youth
minister. You get the idea…
Scripture tells us the Lord will provide. "Therefore I tell you, do
not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your
body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and
the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air;
they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly
Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?" Matthew
6:25-26. The Lord provides. I am also reminded of the admonition in
Philippians 4:6, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything,
by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to
God."
However, there comes a point where we can presume upon the Lord in
error to provide for whatever it is we are pursuing. We can at times
assume our agenda is his agenda. It takes some wisdom to know when
that threshold is being approached. It is one thing to refrain from
anxiety over the daily needs we face (betraying a lack of faith in God
our Provider), another to presume upon him, thinking his goals are
ours. I've seen a few building programs of churches go belly-up.
One aspect of this shows itself in the decisions we make regarding
insurance and preparation. Do I need to have some extra food stocked
up, just in case? Or, should I just trust the Lord to provide if
catastrophe strikes? Should Christians be "preppers"? Should I provide
for my own defense or the defense of those who are dependant on me in
the event of personal threat?
Luke 22:35-36 provides some interesting guidance. From it I learn I
need to plan and make preparations in order to pursue what God asks of
me. Providing for my family is an important part of that. "If anyone
does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate
family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever." 1
Timothy 5:8. He isn't going to provide it all. A part of completing
what he has asked of me is to procure the means to get it done.
I don't know that I have ever heard a sermon on "if you don't have a
sword, sell your cloak and buy one". I have heard plenty on turning
the other cheek…
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
your thoughts of worship from your Bible reading today. I'd love to
hear from you!
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
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