Fresh Manna
by Pastor Tim Burt

Does God care about your needs—I mean enough to truly help you? The answer to that is yes! But if you box Him in to help you the way you think things should happen, or in your timeline, then you’ll be disappointed. Our view and perspective of life is so shallow, yet He knows every moment and day of your life before you live it. He knows the big picture and allows you change it through your faith in Him and His promises. But because you declare Him Lord, then you’ve declared He can help you His way! Is that good? Oh, more than you could ever imagine! Why do I say that? Because we are often too shallow, too superficial, and too immature to know all we need. If you don’t think so, just think about all the times you cave into your flesh regarding things you shouldn’t have or do. You do because you need help whether you’ll admit it or not. And God isn’t interested in just meeting your needs. He is interested in maturing you, teaching you life’s purpose and developing His character qualities in you. And beyond that… He does beyond what we can ask or think. That’s better but often best seen in hindsight! Ephesians 3:20 (NLT) “Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.”

Something the Renee and I have tried to practice most our married life is to pause, ask, and pray before we purchase. I am not talking about groceries or gas for the car or things that are the most basic have-to purchases. I mean the things that to some degree are discretionary. That may be a car, furniture, or just things people buy. For me personally, I’ve learned that I can’t always distinguish when I am coveting after something or that I really need it. So, when I want something that is discretionary, I usually don’t immediately buy it. I pause. I don’t say to myself, You can’t have that. I just think, I’ll wait and pray about it. I often wait a few weeks to see if after that time, I still desire it. Often I don’t. Then I know it was more of a lust than a need. After all that, if I still want something, I will ask the Lord to provide for it.

Inside our kitchen cabinet, you’ll find a list of things Renee and I have asked God to provide for us. When we put something on our list, we pray and ask the Lord to provide it and from then on, thank God He meets our ever need according to His riches in glory! The list is right where are garbage basket is so we look at it often and thank God for providing when we do. It keeps us focused on the Lord’s provision and hopeful and thankful. And that keeps us from mounting up debt by just buying stuff we can’t afford. It helps us maintain our budget and allows us to watch God work supernaturally in our life!

There are always about ten things on the list. One thing on our present list was carpeting. It now has a check mark by it! The carpeting in our home was 24 years old. I know that sounds gross but it actually still looked good. It was just old. We put it on our list to ask God for and prayerfully kept it before Him.  Carpeting was one of those things that had been on our list for over three years because it’s such a big expense, but we were patient and confident and had asked God to make a way. One day I was notified that I was getting a check for a significant sum of money that had been owed me. I had forgotten about it and wasn’t expecting or even thinking about it. I thought it was money that would never come back to us. It was more than enough to cover our upstairs carpeting. We are still believing for our provision for our downstairs carpeting. On our current list, six of the ten things have supernaturally been provided for in the past two years. It has been amazing!

Recently Renee and I were in a store called American Girl. We saw these very expensive dolls that we knew our granddaughters wanted. We would have been glad to buy them but after looking at them, we said, “Okay, we are willing to, but let’s just pray and ask God.” We were planning that by Christmas we’d get them for the girls. A couple of days later, our daughter told us that someone had suddenly and unexpectedly just given her and her husband the money for American Girl dolls. They were ecstatic and told us we no longer needed to get them because God provided them! That was fine with us. We bought them something different.

A young man told me his story. His daughter wanted this particular dollhouse very badly. She asked about it often. He and his wife were feeling pretty strongly about getting it for her but wanted to pray and ask God to provide for it. It was outside of their budget and would have busted their budget. They agreed together in prayer about it and a few days later, a couple who are friends of theirs stopped over at their house. They said, God has been dealing with us about something. We are supposed to buy something for your daughter. Is there something she has been wanting?  They looked at each other and said Yes! They explained and the couple immediately wrote them a check for the dollhouse for their daughter.

Does this all sound unspiritual to you? It shouldn’t. We have needs in life. Sometimes those things are born from lust but many are rooted in sincere need. When you have needs without having a way to meet them you get anxious and people often breech budgets and integrity to get them. God tells us to ask in faith because it brings us into peace as we trust Him. Philippians 4:6-7 (NIV) says, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” 

God cares about your needs and knows you have needs beyond your natural reach. This is how we live in the supernatural life and provision of God. And it brings so much joy to see God intimately involved in your life! And God gets all the glory! No matter what the need is, God cares. Asking, having patience and trust, and standing in faith are all an integral part of living in God’s care and provision!

Philip. 4:19 (NLT) “And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.”

In His Love,
Pastor Tim Burt

Published by Pastor Tim Burt
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