Reminder to Self: God is My Provider

In a time of economic upheaval, lay-offs, foreclosures, and corporate downsizing, fear is standing on every corner. Today we have a job and it might be gone tomorrow. The value of 401k accounts, stocks, and other investments is sliding down a slippery slope. However, still central in all of this mass confusion and chaos, is a Savior who is never changing and always near.

As a lay-off threatens our own household, I confess that I have allowed fear to replace faith. I had a temporary faith lapse and seemed to forget Who the ultimate Provider is in my life. It is not an employer. It is not the paycheck. It is not interest from investments. My next day’s needs and my next week’s survival are all under the control of my Lord and Savior. He, alone, will meet all of our needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus.

He has bluntly reminded me in Matthew 6:24-26:

“Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?”

I asked His forgiveness as I struggled, stressed, and stammered at the prospect of a life without a household income or insurance. God knew that I had fallen and messed up, yet I know He has forgiven me for stumbling. Thank You, God, for being a forgiving God.

Now, I must move forward in faith. If the next paycheck does not arrive or if there is no insurance to care for my extensive medical needs, He knows all about that. He will never leave me nor forsake me.

As times become more and more difficult for many families, let us be reminded of:

Isaiah 43

But now, thus says the LORD, who created you, O Jacob,
And He who formed you, O Israel:
“ Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by your name;
You are Mine.
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you.
When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned,
Nor shall the flame scorch you.
For I am the LORD your God,
The Holy One of Israel, your Savior;