Extravagant Provision

Last November I had the privilege of traveling to Israel. (SO much more on that to come…) While I was there the Lord started speaking to me about the theme of His extravagant provision, in a way I’ve never thought about it.

We were standing near the waterfall at En Gedi, and as I looked up at the caves, in the rocks around me, I couldn’t help but be overwhelmed with how the Lord provided for David and his men. All around me were natural caves that had been carved out of the rocks over thousands of year of erosion, and God allowed them to be formed because He knew one day, thousands of years later, David and his men would need those caves to hide from Saul.

I continued to think about how amazing it was, that God would anticipate David’s need, and then create something just for him.

Then the Lord highlighted something else we had seen earlier in the day. Before driving up to En Gedi we had spent most of our morning at Masada. Masada was a fortress, built by King Herod, on top of a massive plateau, in the middle of the dessert, because he was so paranoid someone would try to kill him. After his death it was abandoned and went unused for decades until the Jewish Zealots fled to it, trying to escape the Romans. Again I was in awe of how the Lord would use King Herod to build this fortress, and fill its storehouses, so one hundred years after it was built, God’s people could flee there and have food and a place of shelter. Psalm 34 says,

When I had nothing, desperate and defeated, I cried out to the Lord and he heard me, bringing His miracle-deliverance when I needed it most. He will do this for everyone who fears God. Drink deeply of the pleasures of this God. Experience for yourself the joyous mercies He gives to all who turn to hide themselves in Him. Worship in awe and wonder, all you who’ve been made holy! For all who fear Him will feast with plenty. Even the strong and the wealthy grow weak and hungry, but those who passionately pursue the Lord will never lack any good thing.” (Psalm 34:6,8-10 tPt)

God is so amazing. As Christians we often talk about seeing the bigger picture but I don’t think we can even begin to grasp what the “bigger picture” is. God created caves thousands of years before David needed them, but He created them because David would need them.

Knowing this it causes me to pause, look at my life, and wonder, “what is it God did hundreds, or thousands, of years ago that He’s using to bless me now?” Or “what is it He did two years ago because He knew I’d need it today?” God is always on the move, He is always planning and preparing things for His children.

Just the other week He highlighted something to me, as an example of this in my own life. Two years ago we bought a home and when we moved in we did some remodeling. Our biggest project was completely refinishing, and remodeling, the pool. It’s a beautiful pool, and we have loved our improvements, but this winter the Lord told us to buy a house just outside of town. As we started looking around at houses I was really bummed, because even though most of the homes had pools, they weren’t nearly as nice as the one we had built.

However when we looked at the house we would end up buying, I was amazed to see the pool they had put in was exactly like our pool, just smaller. One night, as I was standing at the window of our old house, looking out over the backyard, I was suddenly overwhelmed with the Lord’s presence as He began to speak to me about our pool.

He was showing me how much He loves me, and how well He knows my desires, because when the old owners of our new house put in that pool, they were picking things they liked in a pool, but really the Lord was planning something even greater. He knew only a handful of years later the pool would be more than just a pool to me—it would be a symbol of how much He loves me and knew exactly what my desires would be when He moved us to Palo Cedro.

This may seem like a silly example, because it’s just a pool, but to me it’s so much more than a pool, it’s evidence of Psalm 34,

those who passionately pursue the Lord will never lack any good thing.”

And it’s evidence of Luke 12:26-28 (tPt),

So if worrying adds nothing, but actually subtracts from your life, why would you worry about God’s care of you? ‘Think about the lilies. They grow and become beautiful, not because they work hard or strive to clothe themselves. Yet not even Solomon, wearing his kingly garments of splendor, could be compared to a field of lilies. If God can clothe the fields and meadows with grass and flowers, can’t he clothe you as well, O struggling one with so many doubts?’”

We are so quick to get caught up in a moment, a situation, our fears, our doubts, but we need to remember that God isn’t just a God who saves and redeems, He’s also a God who loves us extravagantly. He’s the God who created mines so that thousands of years later men, and women, could mine coal, precious metals and gems, to provide for their families. He’s the God who created dinosaurs so that some unknown amount of years later we could have oil to heat our homes, and run our cars.

We can try to focus on the bigger picture—and that even though we don’t understand our circumstances now, some day we will—but I think we should also focus on the fact that God knows the whole picture—from the beginning of time, to the end of time, He is always making a way for us through His extravagant provision. And when you’re just not feeling it, as there are many times I don’t, let’s take our cues from Sarah,

for the authority of her faith rested in the One who made the promise, and she tapped into His faithfulness.” (Hebrews 11:11b tPt)