And if you say, ‘What shall we eat in the seventh year, if we may not sow or gather in our crop?’ I will command my blessing on you in the sixth year, so that it will produce a crop sufficient for three years.
Leviticus 25:20-21 ESV
I worried I would not have enough money to live on during retirement. My mother’s sky-high nursing home bills haunted me. What if I got sick? Who would take care of me? Would I run out of money paying for my care? I struggled to have faith in God’s promises to provide. Is there a situation in your life where you struggle to trust in God’s provision?
Moses and the Israelites
When the Israelites left Egypt and their lives of slavery, they too struggled to trust in God’s provision. God provided for their needs while they traveled through the wilderness to develop their faith in Him. When they complained about the shortage of food, God provided manna and quail (Exodus 16:31, Numbers 11:18-20). When they grumbled about the lack of fresh water, God provided it (Exodus 15:22-25, Exodus 17:6).
At Mount Sinai, God gave Moses instructions to teach the Israelites how to worship God and live holy lives. These instructions included establishment of the Sabbath year and Year of Jubilee to encourage the people to trust in God’s provision and teach them generosity (Leviticus 25:1-12). Everything belongs to God, because He created it (Genesis 1:1).
The Sabbath year and the Year of Jubilee
God patterned the Sabbath year, a “solemn rest for the land, a Sabbath to the Lord,” (Leviticus 25:4) after the weekly Sabbath day of rest (Exodus 20:11, Leviticus 23:3). During the Sabbath year, the land lay fallow; no plowing, planting, or harvesting allowed (Leviticus 25:4-5).
In addition, God proclaimed the Year of Jubilee every seven Sabbath years (Leviticus 25:10). Besides a Sabbath rest for the land, God instructed the Israelites to liberate prisoners and slaves, restore land to previous owners, and forgive debts.
Because the year of Jubilee followed a Sabbath year every 49 years, the people required storage of enough food for three years. In an agrarian society where all food comes from the land, not planting crops was unimaginable. How would they have enough? (Leviticus 25:20). But God promised a blessing of crops sufficient for three years (Leviticus 25:21).
Today, just like He did for the Israelites, God provides resources for us to manage. He wants us to trust Him, depend on His provision, and be good stewards of our assets.
A painting class inspires trust in God’s provision
About a year after I retired, I took a painting class to paint a self-portrait. My portrait showed me looking up at the sky, at a flock of birds. My theme for the painting was this teaching of Jesus:
Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?
Matthew 6:25-26 ESV
The words “do not be anxious” occur three times in this section of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. While painting this portrait, I meditated on how my Heavenly Father feeds the birds. I became less anxious and learned to trust God’s provision for me.
God is omniscient and omnipresent. He knows everything about us (1 John 3:20) and is present everywhere (Psalm 139:7-13). Before we even ask Him, He understands what we need. Seek God first, trust in Him, and know He supplies what we need (Matthew 6:33).
As I look back, God provided more than enough for me to live on, including unexpected income from my mother’s estate. When I sit on my porch and see a tiny hummingbird fluttering at the feeder, I am confident of God’s promises. He takes care of the tiny hummingbirds, and He will take care of you and me.
Food for thought
Is there a time when you did not trust in God’s provision? Can you look back to see how He provided? Or are you struggling now? Pray this prayer with me.
Prayer
Lord, help me trust in your promises. Even if the future looks scary. Even if I don’t understand my circumstances. I know you are right beside me and will take care of me. You have great plans for me and know what is best. Help me live out Your plans for my life today and every day. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Thank you for reminder of trusting in God to provide in any situation. So, often I think first of how I should handle a situation when all I have to do is pray for God to take care of it.
Thanks for reading and commenting, Jeanette! We always try to fix things ourselves, but it is so comforting that God knows what we need even before we ask and He knows what’s best for us.