Christian Living

God Will Take Care of You

by Thomas Kirkpatrick
09/21/18
Free to Share
Author requests article critique

  Message Writer
  Hire Writer

Tweet

"Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you." (1 Peter 5:6-7)

We have a tendency to take what the world throws in our direction in stride, least that is the way we wish it to appear. This is the man-up attitude, the macho thing to do, how else can I impress those around me if I am not a man of deliberate action in times of challenge. How can I be the leading force of the family if I say openly we will wait upon the Lord for His movement? Yet, with this attitude I find myself fighting valiantly through the mess rather than rising above in complete victory. Even when it seems to be going well I often find that the end of the story is less than desirable. My father had advice that he would fall upon in the many trials that he endured in his life. "I will lift up my eyes to the mountains; From where shall my help come? My help comes from the LORD, Who made heaven and earth." (Psalm 121:1) It is the solid answer for all of life’s situations that come into our life. As the Pastor has clearly taught us, God is our source, He is our guidance and He will guide our paths through each valley we encounter. "Trust in the LORD with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight." (Proverbs 3:5-6)

I do not believe that our trials come from God. It was the man who fell in the Garden and it is God who through great sacrifice has provided a way for the man to be restored. The trials in our life come from our own doing, they come from the adversary of mankind, and they come from the community of the world through their rebellion towards God’s Word. Sometimes we find ourselves in a trial from a mysterious origin, we are blindsided and it seems so unfair that these things should come into our life. And though we know not from whence they came and now how they should try to punish us, we are also vexed to reason how to solve them. But God knows from whence it came, He knows the effect it could have upon us, and He knows that path to reach the best solution. If we would but first seek Him and trust and obey His Word and fashion our faith in His Word it will work out to our good perfectly and glorify His name. "And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose." (Romans 8:28)

In my professional life, I thought of myself as a big picture man. I had to know the answer before I would try to enact them. I wasn’t much of a faith walker I was one who had to be able to sink my sight into, I had to see the way through before I would take the first step. That does not mean I sat around waiting for a great vision, I worked out all the scenarios and usually chose the wrong one. I had a short professional career. I leaned upon my own understanding rather than trust an all-knowing God whose thoughts are far higher than men. "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts than your thoughts." (Isaiah 55:9) It is a good thing to have confidence in yourself. But we can only think in the realistic, the practical as living in fantasy is foolishness to us. God thinks in the supernatural as nothing is impossible to Him. "Looking at them, Jesus said, "With people, it is impossible, but not with God; for all things are possible with God." (Mark 10:27)

In the time of King Ahab of the Northern Kingdom of Israel the Lord withheld the rain for three years. There was great suffering amongst the people because of the lack of food because of the lack of water. But God took care of His own in a supernatural way, as only God can do. The Prophet Elijah was cared for by Ravens, “And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening; and he drank of the brook.” (1 Kings 17:6) And he was taken care of by a widow and her son who shared their last bit of meal and oil but yet that last bit never ran out. “And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the LORD, which he spoke by Elijah.” (1 Kings 17:16) We cannot rely upon our own understanding as we cannot see the unlimited resource of our Mighty God. "Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, And which have not entered the heart of man, All that God has prepared for those who love Him." (1 Corinthians 2:9)

God will take care of you, it is the great benefit of our fellowship with Him through Jesus Christ. This fellowship is that of the vision of Jacobs’s ladder which he had in the place he named Bethel. Jacob was traveling to the land of his mother and laid down to rest for the evening. As he slept God spoke to him through a vision of a ladder where God was at the top of a ladder that stretched down to the earth. Upon the ladder, angels were ascending and descending. I see this representative of as our praises go up the blessing of God pour down upon us. I further see that Jesus is our perfect ladder between the throne of God and us. (Genesis 28)

A fellowship is never one-sided, it is a partnership requiring that each partner do his part. This relationship only falters when man fails to do his part as God is faithful and true. (Revelation 3:14) We must first seek God and the righteousness of His Son, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” (Matthew 6:33) We are to serve Him and serve Him only. It is as the story of the little sailboat:

Little Johnny loved to build things out of wood. After weeks of meticulous work, Johnny completed building a little sailboat. Anxious to give the little sailboat a try the next day he went to the creek behind his house and placed the little boat in the lazy flowing stream. The slow current would drive the boat back into the shore without it moving any distance. So Johnny built a larger sail and placed the boat back into the stream. A steady breeze came up and the little sailboat began to sail down the stream. Johnny would follow along the shore watching his boat sail with great excitement until the boat began to move quicker than Johnny could manage to follow. Soon the little sailboat moved far down the stream and was out of Johnny’s sight.

The next week when Johnny was in town and passed by the five and dime and he saw his little sailboat in the store window. He quickly went in to inquire the owner as to where he found it. He was told along the shore of the river and that it was for sale for a very reasonable price. Johnny told the man that he had built the little sailboat and it was his. The store owner said well that may be true but it was his now as you know “finders keepers and losers weepers.” So Johnny bought his own boat and took it home with him.

When Johnny got home his dad saw that he had the boat and asked him where he found it. Johnny told his dad about the five and dime and that he had to buy it back. His dad was going to go and see the owner and get Johnny’s money back. But Johnny said no that it was fine just the way that it worked out. Johnny said, “Dad, you see it is twice mine now. First I built it and now I have redeemed it.

The Christian is twice Gods. First God created us and then He redeemed us with the blood of His Son. We are not our own, we belong to God and it is our duty to serve Him. We give to God from the abundance of blessings that He pours on all of us each day of our lives. We give because it is our duty to our Master. “Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.” (Luke 6:38)

God takes care of His own not so much because we love Him but that He loves us. "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8) We love God because He sacrificed more for us that we are able to sacrifice for Him. We love God because He is our Heavenly Father, He loves as greater than any earthly father has loved us, and He cares for us through His great love and justice. “Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.” (Malachi 3:10)

I leave with you these wonderful words written by Civilla D. Martin in 1904, which calms me each time I become anxious about the day. "Be not dismayed whatever betide, Beneath His wings of love abide. Through days of toil when heart doth fail, When dangers fierce your path assail. All you may need He will provide, Nothing you ask will be denied. No matter what may be the test, Lean, weary one, upon His breast. God will take care of you, through every day, o’er all the way; He will take care of you, God will take care of you."

Thomas N Kirkpatrick

The Bridges, Riverview, Florida. July 11, 2015