PANDEMIC, Coronavirus, social
distance – Did you ever think you’d be using these words, in real life and within
your lifetime? I certainly didn’t. It’s been 100 years since such a virus, such a
messenger of death, has taken over our Country, our counties, our
neighborhoods, and even our homes. It’s a National Emergency where, if you
happen to make it outside, you’re understandably faced with other humans dressed
in medical masks and gloves. Schools are
physically shut down HERE, in the United States of America. It’s a surreal time, to say the least, a time
of uncertainty and desperation.
Change
of any kind can bring fear, which easily breeds fear. Fear can be healthy and help us focus on the
true, important things in life. Fear can also be debilitating. As humans, our
fears often come with questions.
·
What’s
going to happen if we only have one income and I’m laid off or furloughed?
·
How
am I going to feed, clothe and house my loved ones?
·
Am
I doing enough to protect myself and my family from the virus?
·
What
happens if I get sick OR what if my loved ones catch the virus?
Oh, My Friends, this is when FAITH comes in – a beautiful,
desperate, hungry, faith in Our God!
When I was young, with my Dad being
in the Ministry, we HAD to rely on God – we had the privilege of practicing faith
for everything. My parents taught us about George Mueller, a Christian
Evangelist who founded (and managed) one of the largest orphanages of his
time. Mueller and his wife loved these children
as if they were their own, and keenly desired to teach “faith” as a fundamental action. When George
Mueller’s orphans left for adulthood, he wanted nothing more than for them to
KNOW what faith in God truly was; to know how to practice it, to breathe it, to
live it.
As a child, I was amazed by the
true stories of faith concerning George Mueller and one in particular continues
to shine.
Here’s a little background:
The orphanages Mueller built and managed, were
One evening, everyone in the orphanage came down for
dinner. They all sat down at the table,
along with Mr. and Mrs. Mueller and I’m sure, some teachers and staff. No food had been prepared because there was
no food – cupboards were bare. No
steaming bowls of peas, no cold glasses of milk. Mr. Mueller offered a
prayer aloud, asking God to literally provide right then and there. Can you
imagine what the teachers and staff must have been thinking, or what was going
through the minds of the children? Suddenly, their local baker stopped by, telling George, he didn’t know why, but God had
clearly prompted him to make extra bread for their “family”. So, the
children now had a warm piece of bread on their plates. I can
see their eyes growing bigger, even now.
A milk cart broke down in front of
the orphanage around that very same time, so the milkman knocked, asking if
he could donate his load of milk, as it would become sour before his wagon
would be fixed. That night, those sweet kiddos, teachers and staff had big, cold
glasses of milk with warm, crusty bread.
Mueller made sure to point out – they had asked their Father to fulfill
their needs and, God had provided!
I want to make this point very
clear: There is NOTHING you can say or do that will make God love you more than
He does right now. God’s gifts and provision are NOT based upon
our human faith – they aren’t the sum of our good deeds, or how many times a
day we pray, go to church, etc. God’s provision, the movement of God, has NOTHING
to do with the amount of faith I have.
You know why? Because, I am a human, a fallen man who
could never possibly earn God’s attention, love or provision. THANK GOD, my own, human faith has nothing to
do with the way God moves. His goodness will never be based on MY goodness.
“Jehovah
Jireh” – Did you know, there are many names
of GOD in the Old Testament? It’s
true! And each one describes a certain character
quality which God possesses. Since I
was little and started hearing the stories of George Mueller, I have clung to
this particular name of God: JehovahJireh – MY PROVIDER. When you pray,
when you call out to God in desperation, you are speaking to the Provider of
ALL things! Pretty cool. We can absolutely trust that name, as God’s
name and character never change.
When God introduces himself as Jehovah Jireh,
It’s in the context of
-Barnabas,
Piper and Debra McDaniel
Sometimes, you may be like me –
you may not even feel like believing or may not have faith in God and His
provision. That’s okay!
You can pray with me: “Lord, I believe, help my unbelief!” Mark 9:24. Lord, I CHOOSE to trust you, even though my feelings are running in the
opposite way!
These times of fear and
uncertainty are the exact times God is building faith within us.
We can learn to trust Him literally,
for the things we need, just like George Mueller. Strained times also remind us of Heaven – for followers
of Christ, this earth is NOT our home. It will decay, it will break apart
by land and by leaders, but we can cling to that faith – the same faith believing Father of
Hebrews 11:1,6: “Now faith is confidence in
what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. 6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because
anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those
who earnestly seek him”.
Here’s the thing, guys – our rewards aren’t always seen here on
earth. There
are plenty of these examples in the Bible – Believers, living out in faith,
being obedient in word and deed, yet not seeing a “happy ending”. Our lives as Followers of Christ are not Fairy tales
YES! God promises to provide for ALL of our needs,
of that we can be sure! There is no doubt. But the fullness of His provision won’t be
seen in this lifetime, on this earth. The FULLNESS of God’s provision will be
seen in HEAVEN, which is our true home.
So, in these uncertain days of constant
news reports, with true fears of what’s to come in this life, we can rest in
Jehovah Jireh, Our Provider.
Even if, even when, we don’t see
the fruition of God’s full blessings in this lifetime, we can trust it will all
be made right in the next. Believer, be encouraged! God has promised to take care of you, just as He cared for George Mueller and his large
family; even more exciting, when this world seems to be too much, we can look forward to our REAL life, our eternal
life with God.
Choosing to Believe,
Ryan
Enjoy reading more about George Mueller: https://www.georgemuller.org/
Enjoy learning the names of God: https://www.biblestudytools.com/bible-study/topical-studies/old-testament-names-of-god-you-need-to-know.html
Enjoy reading about the “Heroes
of Faith” from the Old Testament: https://www.biblestudytools.com/hebrews/11.html
Hebrews 11
1 Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance
about what we do not see.
2 This is what the ancients were commended for.
3 By faith we understand that the universe was formed at
God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.
4 By faith Abel brought God a better offering than Cain did.
By faith he was commended as righteous, when God spoke well of his offerings.
And by faith Abel still speaks, even though he is dead.
5 By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did
not experience death: “He could not be found, because God had taken him
away.” For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased
6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because
anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those
who earnestly seek him.
7 By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in
holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world
and became heir of the righteousness that is in keeping with faith.
8 By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would
later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know
where he was going.
9 By faith he made his home in the promised land like a
stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who
were heirs with him of the same promise.
For he was looking forward to the city with foundations,
whose architect and builder is God.
11 And by faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age,
was enabled to bear children because she considered him faithful who had
made the promise.
12 And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came
descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on
the seashore.
13 All these people were still living by faith when they
died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed
them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on
earth.
14 People who say such things show that they are looking for
a country of their own.
15 If they had been thinking of the country they had left,
they would have had opportunity
16 Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly
one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a
city for them.
17 By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a
sacrifice. He who had embraced the promises was about to sacrifice his one and
only son,
18 even though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that
your offspring will be reckoned
19 Abraham reasoned that God could even raise the dead, and
so in a manner of speaking he
20 By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau in regard to their
future.
21 By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of
Joseph’s sons, and worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff.
22 By faith Joseph, when his end was near, spoke about the
exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and gave instructions concerning the burial
of his bones.
23 By faith Moses’ parents hid him for three months after he
was born, because they saw he was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid
of the king’s edict.
24 By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known
as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter.
25 He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God
rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin.
26 He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as
27 By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he
persevered because he saw him who is invisible.
28 By faith he kept the Passover and the application of
blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of
Israel.
29 By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry
land; but when the Egyptians tried to do so, they were drowned.
30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the army had
marched around them for seven days.
31 By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the
spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient.
32 And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell
about Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah, about David and Samuel and the
prophets,
33who
through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was
promised; who shut the mouths of lions,
34 quenched the fury of the flames and
35 Women received back their dead, raised to life again.
There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might
gain an even better resurrection.
36 Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and
imprisonment
37 They were put to death by stoning; they were sawed in
two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and
goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated
38 the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts
and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground.
39 These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them
received what had been promised,
40 since God had planned something better for us so that only
together with us would they be made perfect.
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