Trusting in God’s Provision

Think for a moment about all the ways God has met the needs of his people throughout history. 

When Israel was in the wilderness, they had no supermarkets or grocery stores; yet God rained down manna from heaven so the people would have bread. He caused birds to fall by the bushel from the sky so they would have meat. God also caused water to gush from a rock. 

In the Old Testament, we read that a raven fed a hungry prophet. A barrel of flour and a bottle of oil supernaturally replenished themselves. An entire enemy army fled upon hearing a strange noise, leaving behind enough supplies to feed an entire city of starving Israelites. 

In the New Testament, we read that water was turned into wine. Money was found in a fish’s mouth to pay taxes, and five thousand people were fed with only five loaves of bread and two fish. 

All these miracles of supply cry out to us that God is faithful. He can be trusted!

In Leviticus, we read of another supernatural phenomenon, an especially ripe harvest in the year before the sabbath for the land. Next, God commanded that the people observe seven consecutive cycles of sabbaths: “And you shall count seven sabbaths of years for yourself, seven times seven years; and the time of the seven sabbaths of years shall be to you forty-nine years” (Leviticus 25:8, NKJV). In other words, they were to celebrate this sabbath every seventh year, for a period of forty-nine years. 

In biblical terms, the forty-nine-year period would comprise a whole generation. The implication is that such a period would provide enough time for an entire generation to learn to trust the Lord. 

Over that time, parents and grandparents would build up a history of faith so they could tell their children, “Yes, it’s true! God supplied everything we needed for the first six years, but many of us were afraid when the seventh year came. Yet God’s provision saw us through to the eighth year and right up to the ninth. Sometimes it was frightening, but there was always enough. No one starved, and no one had to beg. Every need was supplied. God tested our faith, and he remained faithful.” 

Beloved, the point to understand is that when God says, “Trust me,” he means it!