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Philippians 4:19; “And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”

Our verse today’s tells us that God always provides for his children, although often it’s not in the way we expected or hoped.

However, the challenge is for us to see His provision and care, even when it is different than we expect. Because God is God, and His ways are higher than our ways (Isaiah 55:9).

Have you heard the song 10,000 Reasons? The chorus says…

You're rich in love- And You're slow to anger- Your name is great- And Your heart is kind- For all Your goodness- I will keep on singing- Ten thousand reasons-For my heart to find. 

You see, God is always doing 10,000 things in your life, but you may not always be aware of them.

Over and over again, Jesus’s disciples missed what He was doing right in front of them. They missed the point of the miracles. They missed the lessons.

Which should give us hope for our own lack of clarity today.

So, today I want to give you four points to provide encouragement on how God provides and cares for each of us…

       1^st God May Provide Differently Than We Expect

Remember when the Israelite's escaped Pharos army by crossing the Red Sea, only to face the challenges of the desert.

One of the biggest challenges for such a large group of people was enough food to eat. Yet, over and over again were told how God provided supernaturally for his people.

If God could provide for many thousands of Israelite's in the middle of a desert, he can surely provide for you and your family’s needs.

But even with God’s supernatural provision, the Israelites still complained and grumbled in the desert. They longed for the food they left behind in Egypt. God was literally providing bread from heaven — enough for each day — but they wanted His provision a different way. They wanted it their own way.

This lesson has spoken to me over the years. Ask God to provide for you in whatever way he deems fit and don’t grumble when his provision is different then you expected.

      2^nd God Provides More of Himself

 Our greatest need is for more of God… and this is something he gladly gives us. Scripture tells us to make the pursuit of God the primary function of our lives. Matthew 6:33 says, “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” Psalm 37:4 says, “Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.”

Ask yourself: What is the deepest root of your joy?

Is it, what God gives to you or is it, what God is to you?

For our ultimate need is for more of His word, more of His ways—it’s more of Him. 

     3^rd God’s Ultimate Provision Has Already Been Given in the Gospel.

We ask God for many things, but the greatest thing we could ever receive from Him has already been given. What God has given us in the gospel is so much more than every other provision and care we could ever seek from him.

When we trust in Christ, we have ultimately secured for us every good thing from Him. It’s just a matter of time.

     4^th God Provides Finally in Eternity

Hebrews 11 gives us two different perspectives on God’s provision and care for us. Some, by faith, came through this life victorious, while others lost their lives. Both are commended for their mighty faith. 

God does not always provide and care for us in ways we might expect in this life. The Bible does not promise this.

Peter, James and Paul gave their very lives for the gospel. They viewed the gospel as a treasure not to be lost at any cost. They suffered gladly because they had something in the gospel that had far more worth. 

This life is fleeting. This life is fragile. This life is but a vapor’s breath. The next life, the age to come, is where all God’s provision and care for us will ultimately make sense and come together as a whole.

We may not receive healing in this life, but we will receive perfect healing in eternity. We may not see answers to our greatest prayers in this life, but we will receive fully in eternity.

Some days God’s provision and care may seem distant, but it will be ever-present in eternity. We long for our world to stop raging and be at peace, but ultimate peace will only come in eternity. 

Life Happens… and although our hearts ache under the pressures of this life, it is only because we were made for another world. We are sojourners and aliens on this earth.

As 1 peter 2:9 says:

“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.”