What Are You Waiting For? Manna From Heaven? How’s That Working For You?
Ξ December 8th, 2009 | → Comments Off | ∇ Christian Living, Growing In The Lord |
Welcome back!
There’s a story in the news recently with the headline “Mom expected God to provide food, daughter testifies” That I just can’t get out of my head. It’s the kind of thing that you hear about once in a while and always serves to make people look like nutjobs for even saying anything about putting their faith in God.
From the story:
The money ran out first. Then the food.
Over three months in 2006, as her five children grew more emaciated and listless by the day, Estelle Walker made no move to find a job, no effort to scrounge up a meal, her kids told a jury yesterday.
“We were supposed to wait for God to provide,” said Walker’s oldest daughter, now 21. “And that’s what we did.”
At one point, the daughter said, she and her siblings went 11 days without food. When police were at last summoned to the Sussex County cabin by neighbors, investigators found the children so malnourished they had difficulty talking.
I have to say right away that I firmly believe that putting ones faith in God is *ALWAYS* the right thing to do. However I *DO* question just what it is that people who do things like this are expecting from God that would make them believe that it’s somehow alright to allow children to starve or go without desperately needed and easily available medical attention. Or worse.
The question is not whether putting faith in God is right, rather it’s “What are you expecting from Him?” This woman sat there allowing her children to starve when it would have been a simple matter to get them the food they needed. “God will provide” you say? I agree, He will and in fact HAS provided.
Here’s some of the ways in which God provided:
There are food pantries, churches and charities galore that do a LOT to provide food for those that need it. This woman had been a teacher but didn’t do anything about trying to get a job, either as a teacher, or in any other position that would have meant money to feed her children. She had family that I’m sure at least some of whom would have helped but apparently she did nothing about that either.
This reminds me about the old story about the man who, when the area where he lived started to flood, refused to leave saying “God will save me”. The flood waters rise and a neighbor is there with a boat offering him a ride to safety. The man turned down the offer saying “God will save me.”
Later the waters have risen so high that he’s sitting on the roof of his house because the rest of it is underwater. A news crew comes by in a boat and offers him a ride to safety. “No thanks.” he says “God will save me.”
A few hours later the flood waters have risen so high that he is now clinging to the very top of his chimney, holding on for dear life lest the current sweep him away. A rescue Helicopter spots him and hovers over him, sending in a diver and lowering a rope ladder to help him to safety. “I’ll be ok.” he says “God will save me.” and he refuses to board the helicopter.
Some time later as the water continues to rise the man loses his grip, is swept away and soon drowns. He finds himself in heaven and confronts the Lord asking Him “Why didn’t you save me? I had complete faith in you.” The Lord looks at him shaking His head and replies “Son, I sent you two boats and a helicopter. What more do you want?”
The point of this story is that while putting faith in God is definitely the thing to do, it’s important to recognize when He’s provided the help you need. This woman said that God will provide and He DID provide. In many ways. She simply was unable or unwilling to see it.
Did she perhaps expect manna from heaven? Some other miraculous provision? While that’s something that God can and has done it’s generally the exception rather than the rule. I think it was nearly four thousand years ago that the children of Israel ate manna for forty years as they wandered in the dessert. To my knowledge nobody else has since then.
For that matter, I’m quite sure that God could easily arrange for bars of pure gold to fall out of the sky and land in your front yard with your name engraved on each one. That doesn’t mean however that you should hold your breath waiting for it to happen. God is much more likely to provide in other ways. In my own experience His provision has often comes in ways that I never expected. Usually by showing me what resources there were and how I could, and should, make use of them.
There was ONE time that somebody came up to me, handed me five dollars (which I really needed badly at the time.), and said “God told me to give this to you”, and turned and walked away before I could respond. A moment later they were gone and nobody around remembered seeing the person.
I was and still am very grateful but I’m not going to look for something to happen like that again.
There’s a LOT of God’s people on this earth that are doing His work, providing for people in need. The odds are good that some of these people and the things that they do were some of the ways in which God provided for this woman.
So in the end I say yes, PUT your faith in God. Wholeheartedly and without reservation or hesitation at all. Be KEEP YOUR EYES AND MIND OPEN, you have NO idea how He will provide the answer to your need.
In other words as Lura once put it in one of her articles “Take God Out Of That Box!“, which means don’t box Him in your preconceived ideas. He is bigger and more capable than you or I can even begin to imagine and if you try to box Him into a neat little package you’ll miss out on most of what He’s got for you.
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