The Great Provider: God Is Everything We Need, Everywhere We Are
One of the names of God is Jehovah Jireh, which means "the Lord our provider" or "the Lord will provide." It's so wonderful to know that God is our source for everything we need and He cares about everything we care about. There's no need so small that He doesn't know about it, and nothing too big that He can't provide for us.
He is omniscient (all knowing), omnipresent (everywhere, all the time), and omnipotent (all powerful). (See Jeremiah 42:11 AMP.)
The Bible says He's…
• Our shelter, refuge and hiding place (Psalm 91)
• The one who comforts us (2 Corinthians 1:3)
• Our healer (Psalm 103:3)
• The source of wisdom (James 1:5)
• And everything else we need!
The Lord is your Provider. He loves you and He has a good plan for your life. He wants to bless you so you can fulfill His plan and purpose…so you can really enjoy your life. And in His Word, He tells us who He is and how we can access everything we need through Christ.
The problem is, sometimes we miss out on what God wants to do in in our lives because we go to people, expecting them to give us what we need, instead of God. Now, God will work through the people He puts in our lives to help us, but we need to go to Him first and let Him determine the best way to meet our needs.
Philippians 4:19 (AMP) says, "And my God will liberally supply (fill to the full) your every need according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus." This verse clearly tells us that God wants to meet our "every need…in Christ Jesus." But we can't just take this one scripture and expect to have everything we need without reading it in the context of the whole Bible.
Matthew 6:33 (AMP) says, "But seek (aim at and strive after) first of all His kingdom and His righteousness (His way of doing and being right), and then all these things taken together will be given you besides."
When we seek things instead of God, our focus is not in the right place. Our relationship with God needs to be our number one priority all the time, because everything we need is found in Him. When we seek God to know Him more and to learn the right way to live, then we can have confidence that He will take care of everything that concerns us and meet all of our needs.
I've found that when I spend more time seeking God's face and not His hand – what He can give me and do for me – then my desires and thoughts line up more with His will. And when I spend more time praying for God to show me how to walk in love and treat people right, I'm more likely to want what God has for me –
what's best for me – because my mind and heart are set on the right things.
Hebrews 11:6 (AMP) says, "Whoever would come near to God must [necessarily] believe that God exists and that He is the rewarder of those who earnestly and diligently seek Him [out]." And Romans 8:17 says that if we are children of God, we are "heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ" (NKJV). This means, as born-again Christians, God has provided everything we need in Christ. We just have to access it through a personal relationship with Him.
The Bible also teaches us to "love [our] enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and [our] reward will be great…" and to "be merciful, just as [our] Father is merciful" (Luke 6:35-36NKJV). Verses 37-38 tell us not to judge others, to forgive, and to be generous with our giving, "for with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you."
Obedience to God's Word, giving and serving others are the ways we release the blessings of God in our lives. And if you haven't learned to be a radical, generous giver, you are missing out on one of the best things in your life. I know from experience that you'll never be happier than when you're helping someone else…when you're doing something to help make someone else's life better. And anytime you do anything for anyone, always look at it as if you're giving to God.
The best attitude we can have with giving is: "Lord, I'm doing this for You because I love You. You gave to me, now I want to give my life to You!" When this is the motive of your heart, then you can stand on Philippians 4:19, knowing He will meet your every need.
Trust God to meet every need in your life today. He wants to be your healer, comforter, wisdom, peace, joy – anything and everything you need. He wants you to live in His grace, forgiveness, mercy and strength. Rest in Him with confidence that He is the Lord your Provider!