He will provide all things

Many times, we have worried about the basic needs of life. Whenever we experience the lack of food, clothing, shelter among other basic necessities in life, we tend to worry about how to get these things. Homelessness and its attendant issues can sometimes be traced to the lack of basic necessities of life. What do you do when you wake up to find that there is nothing to eat, drink, wear and you stand the chance of being evicted from your house? These things as basic as they are can cause one to lose focus in life. It is important we do our best to provide our basic needs in life, but we shouldn’t miss the fact that sometimes life can present unexpected turns of events.

In His popular sermon on the mountain, Jesus addressed this issue of dealing with the basic necessities of life. He said in Matthew ̈6:25‬ that “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 than food, and the body more than clothes?” Jesus knew that the basic needs of life can cause worry and He therefore appealed to His listeners not to allow the lack of clothes, food and drink to cause them worry. Jesus’ reason is this:
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? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith?” (‭‭Matthew‬ ‭6:26‭-‬30‬).

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. ‭‭(Matthew‬ ‭6:33‬)

Worrying doesn’t add anything to our lives, it rather takes away our time, energy and even our vigor. Our lack of things should not open us up for pain and shame. According to Jesus, we shouldn’t worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. ‭‭(Matthew‬ ‭6:31‭-‬32‬). Life is more precious than these things. There is a better approach according to Jesus and that is to seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well (‭‭Matthew‬ ‭6:33‬). Thus, if our lives are lived on the mantra of “God first” in everything, God shall provide for us the things we need in life. He will always bring helpers our way. He will provide us with the basic necessities of life and we shall not be at the mercy of worry. Sometimes, our real worry is not about the fact that we don’t have these basic needs.

Our real worry is about the desire to have what others have and be at par with them. Our real worry mostly centers on our wants, not our needs. It is not worth it crushing our brains because we want to wear purple dresses but we have blue dresses. These are things unbelievers struggle with in life. We should be content with what the Lord graciously provides for us each day.

The first sacrifice: God’s provision

Since the beginning of the world, God has always provided for humanity what is needed. The first residents on earth were placed in the Garden of Eden which provided all that they needed. Adam and Eve lacked nothing because God ensured that they had everything they needed. The Garden of Eden was no ordinary place. It was planted specifically by God Himself to ensure that Adam and Eve were well catered for. Besides the provision of food and shelter, Adam and Eve were also clothed with the glory of God. The glory was so radiant that although Adam and his wife were both naked, they felt no shame (‭‭Genesis‬ ‭2:25‬). The were covered in God’s glory, were created in the image and likeness of God and they were given dominion to rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground (Genesis‬ ‭1:26‬).

The Garden of Eden was peaceful and humanity enjoyed all the provision of God even as they worked as custodians of their beautiful place. However, this peace did not stay for long. Before long, the devil deceived Adam and Eve and the couple fell for the deception. The consequences of their disobedience to God was their fall from the position God had granted them. The major consequence of the fall was a broken relationship from God, humanity experienced a spiritual death. Yet, more profound and visible to Adam and Eve was that they suddenly saw that they were naked. Right after eating the fruit God commanded them not to eat, the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves (‭‭Genesis‬ ‭3:7‬). How were they naked and did not know? The glory of God that covered them was taken away after the fall and humanity was exposed to the ills and evils of the world. Adam and Eve’s attempt to cover this nakedness that brought them shame was to sew fig leaves together to make coverings for themselves.

The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them. (‭‭Genesis‬ ‭3:21‬)

God hates sin and surely everyone involved in this act of disobedience received their punishment. The man, the woman and the serpent were all cursed (Genesis 3:14-19). You would have expected that God would just drive Adam and Eve out of Eden without providing them with proper covering for their nakedness. However, God still loved Adam and Eve to watch them roam without garments. The first sacrifice was made, and out of that, the Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them (‭‭Genesis‬ ‭3:21‬). God’s mercy led to Him sacrificing an innocent animal so that the skin of the animal could be used for garments. This act should be a reminder of how far God can go to ensure that we are well covered. God’s mercy and grace overshadowed His indignation against the disobedience of Adam and Eve. He still went ahead and clothed them.

This is a reminder that God provided even when humanity was not in good standing. This is not an encouragement to disobey God but a reminder for us to draw closer to Him even in our lowest points. Throughout the history of humanity God has in diverse areas provided food, shelter, clothing, comfort, encouragement, among many other needs of humanity. As we delve into the subject of God’s provision in the next few days, let’s be reminded once again, that God’s grace and mercy are not license for lawless behaviour. Every act of disobedience will definitely be punished by God. However, we shouldn’t miss the point, He is still Jehovah-jireh: the Lord God shall provide (Genesis‬ ‭22:14‬).

Do not worry, look at the birds

“Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?” (Matthew 6:27)
If worrying can prolong lifespans, humans would live for a very long time. Unfortunately, worrying excessively about everything can cause an early death. Worrying comes from fear of lack, fear of not being able to fulfill all your dreams, fear of missing out etc. In fact, fear is the mastermind of worry. If we replace fear with faith, we shall worry less. We live in unusual times and the average person is constantly exposed to news that causes one to be worried about something. After the world went on a relapse for almost 2 years because of the global pandemic, most of us expected life to be normal but it is not. Maybe the new normal is to navigate through life with all the things happening around us. As believers, these things should not be ‘new news’ because Jesus warned us to expect them (Matthew 24:3-31).

Life can be full of uncertainties but with God on our side, we can navigate through. Jesus’ sermon on the Mountain presents diverse issues of life. Jesus told the people that they should not worry. The message on “Do not worry is presented in Matthew 6: 25-31:

“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 than food, and the body more 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? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labour or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’”

Jesus used two creatures to teach why we shouldn’t worry; birds and flowers. According to Jesus, birds do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet God feeds them. Flowers do not labour or spin and yet they are more beautifully clothed than the rich king Solomon. If our heavenly Father cares for birds and plants, will He not care for us? It is good to make plans for food, water and raiment but if all hope is lost, we should know that our Father in heaven will provide. God provides through people, organizations, charities, churches etc. Instead of worrying, Jesus admonishes us to do the following:
“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” (Matthew 6:33‭-‬34).

All ‘these things’ refer to those things/desires/needs etc. that cause us to worry in life. Instead of worrying about everything, let’s seek God’s kingdom and His righteousness and trust God to bring the provision. I pray that God opens uncommon doors for us and turns our worries into celebrations. There is nothing too hard for the Lord.