Will I have the necessities that I need in the future? Will God provide for my financial needs? Am I going to be able to pay my bills? Does God actively watch over me to make sure that my family and I have the things that we need to make it through life?
Will there be food, shelter, and medical care? Can I be assured that God is going to give me the provisions of life that I need?
What does the Bible say about God’s provision?
Provision
If we knew the number of people who worry about God’s provision for now and in the future, those numbers would most likely include most of us on the planet. Well, what does the Bible say about God’s provision?
Let’s first take a quick moment and define the word “provision.” One of Webster’s definitions that would apply here is “a stock of needed materials or supplies.” Can we rest in knowing that our Heavenly Father is going to provide all that we need without fail?
We will break it down on several levels, but the primary answer comes from the Apostle, Paul, in his letter to the church at Philippi. When Paul wrote this, he apparently had just been generously supplied with good gifts of financial resources and perhaps other items from the Philippians.
“I have received full payment and have more than enough. I am amply supplied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God. And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 4:18-19
So, Paul had the provision he needed for that time in His life and he simply instructed them that the “same God” who provided for him would take care of the Philippians also.
So, does God provide for His children? Yes. The Bible indicates that a true Child of God will have the provision of God. However, confusion can come into our lives when we fail to understand how and what God has promised to provide.
An Old Testament passage from the book of Psalms is also an encouragement as we think on this topic. David writes:
“I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his children begging for bread.
Psalm 37:25 (ESV)
Also, do you remember one of the names of God in the Old Testament? God did something that, on the surface, seemed so outrageous when He asked Abraham to take his son, Isaac, and sacrifice him on Mount Moriah.
Abraham, fully trusting God, was willing to do as God asked. However, at the last moment, God stopped Him and provided a ram to be sacrificed. There God was called “Jehovah-Jireh, meaning “the Lord will provide.”
God has always had the means and the methods of providing for His people.
Is the Promise Of God’s Provision for Everyone?
When looking at what the Bible says about God’s provision here is a topic that we must address.
In the book of Philippians, Paul was writing to the believers in Philippi. So, these were people who had a genuine relationship with God. Paul wasn’t targeting his letter to people who had rejected God. Paul was writing to true believers.
So, here is where we need to make a distinction. If someone hasn’t come to faith in Jesus Christ – if they have failed to accept His gift of salvation through His Son, Jesus Christ, there is a fundamental difference in their relationship with God.
It’s not that God doesn’t love those who have not come to faith in Him. God has certain types of grace on many people. While we walk this earth, God allows blessings and/or hardships on believers and nonbelievers. The Bible says the Lord sends rain on the “just and the unjust” (Matt. 5:45).
To be confident of a promise that God the Father makes to believers requires a person to have trusted Jesus Christ, turned from their own way, and given their lives to Him.
We often hear the phrase, “We are all children of God.” However, that is only true if you define the terms as everyone God has ever created. That’s actually not the proper definition of “children of God.”
“But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God.“
John 1:12
To be a child of God requires us to turn away from our own way and accept Jesus Christ as our Savior. Those who choose to do so are called His children.
“See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are! But the people who belong to this world don’t recognize that we are God’s children because they don’t know him.”
1 John 3:1
What The Bible Says About God’s Provision
There are around 170 Bible verses that talk about God providing for our needs.
“And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.”
2 Corinthians 9:8 (NIV)
The Lord God is more merciful than any of us ever deserve. He is good all of the time and He is available for us when we need Him.
“God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble.”
Psalm 46:1
“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.
Matthew 6:26-27
Just an average parent in this world naturally wants to take care of and do good things for their children. So, how much more so does a perfect Heavenly Father want to take care of His children?
“So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him?”
Matthew 7:11
His love and faithfulness are so great that He provided the ultimate provision in giving His only Son to pay for our sins.
However, promises that are made to children of God, true believers, may not at all apply to non-Christians.
However, they can. By coming to Christ and receiving Him as your Savior, a person can give Him all of their cares and burdens.
“Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.”
Matthew 11:28
That doesn’t mean that we will have everything that we want, but we will have His provision. We can have His peace and rest knowing that He is our Father and guiding our lives!
Bottom line – to have the assurance that the Heavenly Father will provide for us now and for eternity requires us to be one of His children – those who have received Him as Savior, been born-again – not simply by being one of His creations.
So, If I’m Not a “Believer” Then I Don’t Have His Provision?
Well, if you are not a believer, why would it matter? But, that’s not my point. First, God does what He pleases, and He may very well provide for your necessities on earth even if you are an unbeliever. However, He doesn’t give the same promises as He does to His children.
Here is the important point for nonbelievers – that if you’re reading this, you still have an opportunity to trust Christ Jesus as your Savior and become a true believer – a true child of God along with the blessings that come with that relationship!
There is a passage in Matthew chapter 6 that is read quite frequently and it gives us a good clue about God providing for us. Our Heavenly Father knows everything that we will ever need. It should be our focus to seek Him, to focus on our relationship with Him – to see first His kingdom!
When we do that, He promises that He will take care of us. He is not lacking in anything and can abundantly bless us and greatly enrich our lives in each and every way.
“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”
Matthew 6:33
Our Expectations of God’s Provision
Even with all of the scripture written about God’s provision, it’s still confusing, because sometimes we look at things from our human perspective and think God didn’t provide because it wasn’t done in the way we were thinking. Let’s take a look at three ways that can happen.
1- God’s Provision May Not Be What We Expect
Many times God’s provision may not be what you are expecting it to be. What does “all these things” in Matthew 6:33 verse mean? What if you are expecting God’s provision to be an executive-level job with a large salary, a nice house, a gated community, and a new sports car?
What if His provision for you is a lower-level job, a small apartment, and a 20-year-old used car? If your basic needs of food, water, shelter, clothing, etc., are met, then could you complain that God did not provide for you?
Sometimes people believe that God’s provision for them means that He will abundantly bless them with great financial riches if they just trust in Him. As a matter of fact, there are some false Christian teachers that disperse that kind of deception.
Certainly, God is able to make you wealthy if that serves His purposes. He can make it happen in a big way if He chooses to. However, you don’t have to be well off financially for God to provide for your needs.
There are people who might be considered poor by some of the world’s standards, but actually, God is providing for their needs. If you have spent much time with people in other cultures you may have run across people who are very happy even though they only have basic food, water, clothing, and shelter.
Just remember that God is always faithful even if His provision is not what we expected.
2- God’s Provision May Not Be When We Expect It
Sometimes we can allow our faith to grow weak when God does not provide something when we want it. However, God is able to provide for us at the perfect time. He perfectly knows our situation, He perfectly knows each detail about us. He knows us so thoroughly – as even the hairs on our heads are numbered by Him.
So, do we not think that He knows the right timing to bring about what we need?
Our problem is that we use our own fleshly reasoning to try to figure out exactly what God should do and when He should do it. So many times we violate the great scripture found in Proverbs.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;
Proverbs 3:5-6
in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”
Remember what we read earlier- that God would supply our “needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.” Notice that it does not say that He will supply our needs “according to our timetable.”
However, whenever He provides – He remains faithful to His promises.
3- God’s Provision May Not Come How We Think It Will come
A few short years ago my mom started showing symptoms of forgetfulness, then later progressed into more severe memory loss. To our heartbreak, she was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, which can be quite a cruel disease.
We kept her in the comfort of her own home for as long as possible. However, it got so severe that she had to be treated in a memory care center. And during the same time, COVID came along and the times that we could even see her became limited. It was horrible.
It was sad to see my mom that way. However, her diseased brain wiped away many things that were happening and she just lived from moment to moment. She had some good days and some bad, but much of the time I felt more sorrowful for my Dad. He lived with the thoughts of her condition every day.
I remember Him telling me that He was praying that God would heal her. Of course, we agreed with him. We wanted God to heal mom also. We wanted God to provide that.
And He did.
God healed her on September 30th, 2021. She was a dedicated believer in Christ. And He stopped her suffering and gave her health, joy, and freedom as Her heavenly Father called her from this life to be with Him in paradise.
We wanted her memory to heal. We wanted her to not be confused anymore. We wanted her to recognize the people around her and interact joyfully with them. We wanted her to have total peace and joy.
And God did all of that.
It wasn’t how we would have wanted it done if we had picked the method. However, he healed her in a greater way than we will ever know until we see her in heaven.
That may be a more extreme or less extreme illustration in terms of what you might be dealing with. God’s answer to your needs and requests may be much less painful than the death of a loved one. However, the point remains. He may provide for you in a way that we would not have chosen, but one that is consistent with His perfect love and character.
And He will be faithful in His provision.
The Greatest Provisions
The greatest provisions that God gives us on this earth are spiritual in nature. He has provided us with every spiritual available in Christ Jesus that can serve us now and through eternity.
“All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ.”
Ephesians 1:3
We want to participate in the glorious life of a child of God. And believers have been spiritually equipped for that. The Apostle, Peter, told us that we have everything we need to live a Godly life here on earth.
“By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence.”
2 Peter 1:3
The Final Provision
God’s final provision for His children will absolutely be carried out for every believer. The Lord God, our heavenly Father will welcome us into a life of eternal bliss, loving and enjoying the beauty of life as it should be and was meant to be according to His divine power.
We receive that wonderful provision because of the gift of God’s own Son. We will have a life free of suffering, worry, fear, anger, and evil of any kind. In that place with will see and live in perfection “according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” (Phil 4:19).
Trust Jesus as your Savior, love Him, be obedient to Him, and trust Him to provide for your needs and look forward to an eternal life of joy.
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