February 10: Trusting His Provision.
HIS PROVISION.
"Your Father knows what you need before you ask Him."--Matthew 6:8
When my dad passed away, a deep sadness came over me. I didn't fully understand all the levels of grief I was experiencing. A friend sent me an article that greatly helped me; it explained how when we lose our final parent, we grieve on three different levels: when we lose our first parent, we place our energy on the parent that we have left, but when the second parent dies, we grieve both parents anew. Second, for the first time we are orphans. Third, the generation before us is gone, therefore, we are the next to face our mortality. Being an orphan brought a new, personal level of grief. And immediately all the Bible verses that referred to God as our Father had a new and intimate meaning for me.
Jesus introduced His followers to a new intimate way to relate to God: He is our Father. He said that unbelievers try to impress God by mere repetitions (Matthew 6:7), but His disciples should not. Several times in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus talks about God as the disciples' Father (see 5:16, 45, 48; 6:1, 4, 6, 8, 9, 14, 15, 18, 26; 7:11). This has become personal for me. When addressing God as our Father, I am not talking to a distant god, but to One who loves and cares for me. And by using the first person plural possessive pronoun, I am part of the community of God's children. The Lord's Prayer is divided into two main parts: one contains three statements about God, and the other contains three petitions for His provision. "Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done" (Matthew 6:9). Your, Your, Your. Our perspective is aligned with God's when our focus is on Him, recognizing the holiness of His name, and desiring His kingdom to be established and His purposes fulfilled. Then, we acknowledge our dependency on Him, requesting daily provision for our physical needs, as well as forgiveness for our sins and deliverance from temptations (see verses 11-13). All of this is preceded by Jesus' reminder that our Father knows what we need even before we ask Him (verse 8). We are the beloved children of God. We delight in providing for our children. How much more our Heavenly Father delights in providing for us!
My Response:_________________________________________________
HIS PROVISION.
"Your Father knows what you need before you ask Him."--Matthew 6:8
When my dad passed away, a deep sadness came over me. I didn't fully understand all the levels of grief I was experiencing. A friend sent me an article that greatly helped me; it explained how when we lose our final parent, we grieve on three different levels: when we lose our first parent, we place our energy on the parent that we have left, but when the second parent dies, we grieve both parents anew. Second, for the first time we are orphans. Third, the generation before us is gone, therefore, we are the next to face our mortality. Being an orphan brought a new, personal level of grief. And immediately all the Bible verses that referred to God as our Father had a new and intimate meaning for me.
Jesus introduced His followers to a new intimate way to relate to God: He is our Father. He said that unbelievers try to impress God by mere repetitions (Matthew 6:7), but His disciples should not. Several times in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus talks about God as the disciples' Father (see 5:16, 45, 48; 6:1, 4, 6, 8, 9, 14, 15, 18, 26; 7:11). This has become personal for me. When addressing God as our Father, I am not talking to a distant god, but to One who loves and cares for me. And by using the first person plural possessive pronoun, I am part of the community of God's children. The Lord's Prayer is divided into two main parts: one contains three statements about God, and the other contains three petitions for His provision. "Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done" (Matthew 6:9). Your, Your, Your. Our perspective is aligned with God's when our focus is on Him, recognizing the holiness of His name, and desiring His kingdom to be established and His purposes fulfilled. Then, we acknowledge our dependency on Him, requesting daily provision for our physical needs, as well as forgiveness for our sins and deliverance from temptations (see verses 11-13). All of this is preceded by Jesus' reminder that our Father knows what we need even before we ask Him (verse 8). We are the beloved children of God. We delight in providing for our children. How much more our Heavenly Father delights in providing for us!
My Response:_________________________________________________
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