I was recently going somewhere with a friend when she started telling me how for weeks or months, she had been going to a place without ever noticing that some specific services that she now needed, were offered there. Then, she concluded: “It’s funny how one never notices certain things when one doesn’t need them.” And that was it! Her comment triggered something in me and opened my eyes on how God supply our needs.
Before creating Adam and Eve, the Lord first of all set the stage of where they were going to live. In other words, everything that we need to live on a daily basis, what we need to fulfill our destiny, everything we need TO BE, has already been provided for by the Lord and just lies there, within an arm’s length. It is not as if, it is coming from nowhere: it has always been there; but only, as long as we did not need it, our eyes did not see it.
Genesis 28:16-17, “Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, "Surely the LORD is in this place, and I did not know it." And he was afraid and said, "How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven."”
We will not discover some of the features of our computers, our navigators or our phones, until we need them. They were nevertheless always there, well before we even had the desire or the need to use them but, we were simply not aware of them.
Jacob had just lied down in a place that seemed banal enough to him. But during the night, he had a dream in which he saw angels climbing up and down a ladder between the Earth and the Heaven. Then, God appeared to him, made him a promise and Jacob suddenly became aware that the Lord was in that place. It was not Jacob’s presence that changed or triggered anything because those angels were probably at work there, long before he arrived; but God simply wanted his eyes to be opened on the fact that His help is never far away.
When you understand this spiritually,
1) You stop asking for anything in prayer.
We cannot start crying for bread, for a house, for a job or a spouse because God knows we need those; and if we need them, then they have already been taken care of. It’s all there; everything is ready. Indeed, what responsible father would wait for his children to ask to go to school before thinking of registering them? Most of the time, the school has been chosen and the children registered before they could even understand what going to school is all about. What mother in her right mind, will wait for her baby to ask for food before thinking of going out to shop for it? Usually, the milk and the baby food are ready long in advance. And God is more than responsible; He has already thought of and provided for EVERYTHING. That’s why Jesus could say: ‘‘... Your Father knows what you need before you ask him… 31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.” (Matthew 6:8, 31-32)
2) You realise that those who have celestial affections cannot experience lack.
It is written indeed, “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” (Matthew 6:33) In other words, those things (that the world seeks) are given on top of others, to those who mind the Kingdom’s business. It is a firm promise: they no longer have to ask for them in prayer.
3) You learn that God is always on time and there is an appointed time for everything.
“Do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” (Matthew 6:34) It is pointless knocking one’s head: God is Faithful and will infallibly answer ‘present’, when the need will arise. It is in the same spirit that Jesus said to His disciples, “ When they deliver you over, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour. For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.’’ or, “And when they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities, do not be anxious about how you should defend yourself or what you should say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say."” (Matthew 10:19-20, Luke 12:11-12)
4) You become a channel that allows the Grace to flow.
I am now convinced that every Christian should experience all (yes, ALL) the spiritual gifts. I am not saying that he should possess them all, but I do say that he can easily end up experiencing ALL of them. Indeed, if we simply allow ourselves to be led by the Spirit of God with zeal and docility, we will notice that the gifts of miracles, healings, prophecy, knowledge etc., will manifest through us whenever the NEED will be felt. God will put us into circumstances where, without having previously thought of it, and according to what was said in the previous paragraph, the Holy Spirit who pours out gifts, will also release the appropriate gift in us, in that very moment. (See 1Corinthians 12).
5) Like Jesus, we simply pray to give thanks:
“Father I praise You and I give You thanks because once more, as always, before I even thought of it, You had already anticipated the solution for this or that. Just open my eyes that I may see where You have kept it. Open my mind that I may understand…’’ And we pray to avoid any distraction and stay vigilant. Thus, at the appointed time we will be able to see and recognize God's provision. A provision that sometimes uses ways as strange as coins in the mouth of a fish (Matthew 17:27)…
Genesis 22:14, “So Abraham called the name of that place, "Jehovah Jireh"; as it is said to this day, "On the mount of the LORD it shall be provided."”
On that mountain, God provided the sacrifice: He opened Abraham’s eyes on the ram that was tied not far from where he had built an altar.
What do you need this year? If like Abraham, you decide to focus on God’s will and on spiritual things, the Lord will also open your eyes for you to see in your immediate surroundings, all the blessings that He has prepared for you in advance, but that you still have no conscience nor knowledge of. You will also be able to say that in the year of the Lord, in this year that the Lord has made, in 2011, it has been provided for you. BELIEVE this in your heart, and you shall SEE it pass. We have EVERYTHING in full in Christ.
God bless you and Happy Valentine Day!
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