“And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 4:19
In my life I have had plenty, and I have had none. At times in my life I gave or donated tens of thousands of dollars to charities and in others I had to have the church pay my mortgage. In the bad times I couldn’t understand why it was so difficult to make a living when I felt for sure God chose for me what I was doing, and why God was not providing in the way that I thought he should. We read that verse above about God providing all of our needs and we get excited. But when provision doesn’t come, we fail to understand the last part; “according to the riches of His glory”. His glory not ours is the key. We as people want to be filled and never think about filling others and especially never think about putting Gods’ kingdom first. When you are in line with God’s will, his kingdom purpose for us, and you have repented for your sins, only then will you see the prosperity that you desire. So how do you go about getting in line with God’s will and His Kingdom purpose?
Lack of Provision
Before we talk about how to get in line with God’s will, I feel it is helpful to share what I have learned from my experience, the reasons why we at time suffer and do not receive God’s provision and covering. The first and most obvious one is Sin.
Sin separates us from God and not only prohibits a relationship with God, it causes death. In the Greek translation it means that God does not know you and is no longer helping you. It’s no wonder that if you have unresolved (and especially reoccurring) sin, that God will not provide for you and deliver what you are praying for (Isa. 59:1-2, Micah 3:4, Exodus 32:33). If you don’t know this you are destined to have perpetual sin that you continue to struggle with and even worse, you become mad at God for not providing. Its common then for you lash out at those around you because you’re angry which causes separation, loss, family disfunction and even worse in those relationships. I remember arguing semantics and justifying my sin with God. Others do the same. He doesn’t play when you come at him with your “Well technically that verse doesn’t mean….” If you know you are sinning, repent now, turn back and then move forward in line with God (Acts 3:19). You cannot have a divine encounter with God if you were unwilling to deal with your sin and you need somebody in your life to move you towards God when you don’t feel like it and you don’t want to. Sadly, this usually only happens at what is known as rock bottom. But it doesn’t have to be this way. When you lead a life of sin, that basically means that you don’t trust God fully to provide and meet all your needs. Do you trust God in ALL things? A good test of this is when you are lonely, what do you turn to. If you turn to new people first before God, He isn’t Lord of your life. “A person may think their own ways are right, but the Lord weights the heart” (Proverbs 21:2)
The next one that I never understood correctly was the act of moving away from God, he lets you go and therefore you not only are not covered by God, but you tend to fall deeper in sin (Romans 1:18-32). Pay attention to this with great warning because all massive sin begins with one little unrepetitive sin. This always goes hand in hand with the first one above; sin. One of the ways this happens is that we serve other idols. Idols can be anything. Any person, place or thing that takes the place of God (first place) in your life. For many of us, it is out spouses, ourselves, our children, chemicals such as alcohol or drugs, etc. Rest assured that whatever is your idol, God will eventually remove from your life. As humans, I have learned that whatever we put on a pedestal will be eventually be used against us or taken from us. Let me give you an example. Lets say that the most important thing in your life is your spouse. You never say no to them, they are everything for you and no one else in the world matters, you might think that is good. But as soon as you begin to feel like you have poured your life into pleasing them and ensuring their happiness and they begin to disappoint you or never reciprocate in the way you want, rest assured that the evil one will use that to divide and devour you. This is because when you idolize something other than God, God essentially says “don’t call on my blessing when you are serving another idol or another God” (Exodus 34:14). Most people have gone through a breakup. I want you to think about the massive pain that you feel for the person that just dumped you. You can’t sleep, you cry for days or weeks, and you can hardly function in life. That feeling is awful and God feels it too for you on your behalf, but he wants you to love Him that much. To miss Him that much when you stray, to cry for Him when you aren’t in relationship with Him. If you can get that close to God, you will experience peace that makes no sense.
The third reason I have seen and learned that causes lack of “covering” and provision is that God was to see what we are made of. Testing us through Trials is how God works. God hates when we think we can make it without him. Think about your teenager if you have one. They are “independent” enough to think they don’t need you as long as you keep providing and giving them everything they need. They are caught in a constant battle of independence and total dependence. I feel that is how God views us. He will allow contacts and resources to fail. He will allow your bank account to be drained. He will take away everything that we covet and hold above Him. He wants us to understand that we can do nothing without Christ (2 Corinthians 1)- affliction. He will allow tests and trial in your life so that you have the chance to prove that He is first in your life. He will test and try you over and over again before He allows you to be sifted like wheat and turned over to your idols and your sin (Romans 1:18-32). If/When you actually believe that God raised his son from the dead, you can then understand, and believe that He is the only true source in the world. He is in control of all other resources. When one resource fails, you call upon the Lord (Luke 9:10-17, 12:4-7, 12:22-31). Praise God for your job but understand it isn’t your source and it isn’t more important than your God or your family. When God wants to do something for you, you can rest, assured that he wants something FROM YOU. He even says, test me in this several times in the Bible (proverbs 11:25, Luke 6:38). Consider it pure joy when God gives your tests and trials (James 1:2-3).
The last thing that I have learned that can cause lack of God’s provision is Spiritual warfare. I could do a whole blog on this topic and what I have seen and learned, but essentially we need to understand that there is a battle that occurs over us, our salvation and actions (Ephesians 6:10-18). People in this world only live within their five senses, and they are never able to see the power of the Holy Spirit and the forces that oppose the HS. This instance is common when people decided to Follow God and want to go full speed into serving Him. The Devil takes notice and unleashes the “evil day” as it is called in the bible. That is the day that all hell breaks loose. The devil hates when you decided to follow God instead of the world and will throw everything he can at you. The only way to combat this is through prayer and protection. If you fail to understand this you most certainly will not only come under attack but you will not see prosperity.
Summary
God wants to provide for you just as any reasonable father desires to provide for his children. Its happy and healthy to live in unison, agreement and obedience with God. But it is also the most difficult thing you will ever try to do. Trust me from experience when I say that the peace that you will feel is better than any drug or any relationship known to man. If you submit to God and fall in line with his Kingdom purpose for you, you will experience peace and prosperity like you have never imagined after the trials and tests. After, God will move mountains to sustain you and provide for you. Just read (1kings 17) where God used the forbidden bird (Deuteronomy 14), the raven to essentially deliver the equivalent of a sandwich twice a day to Elijah as he lay in despair and depression. God says “the birds eat because I feed them” (Psalm 104 :17). The problem that I always had was I wanted to see God‘s provision, without obeying, and being in line with God’s will, and his word. God doesn’t work that way. Divine encounters and provision happen in the midst of chaos and struggle. Look at the story of Jacob. If you’re unwilling to fight for the Lord your God, he will never get what he has destined for you (Genesis 32:22-31). Proverbs 26:12 say “a fool is wise in his own eyes”- in other words, “I’m going to have it my own way no matter what”. If you want the provision and protection of the Lord God, my recommendation is to stop being a fool like I was! If you are regularly fulfilling God’s law, repenting when you sin, and If God is glorified in your words and actions, His people are benefitted, and His kingdom is advanced, then you will see prosperity that you didn’t think was possible! Believe it!
