
I hope we can all recognize these times of provision in our lives. It’s the time when you only had x amount of dollars in your account and somehow it multiplied and stretched way farther than it should have. It’s the unexpected check that shows up in the mail to cover just the amount you needed for something. It’s a tumor, disease, or condition that was diagnosed one minute and then gone the next. Or maybe it’s that blessing in disguise—a sprained finger that reveals a bigger issue that would have never been discovered otherwise. Do you have stories?

In chapel last week, Mr. B. spoke about George Mueller and God’s provision demonstrated time and time again in his orphanages—times when they didn’t know where the next meal would come from or how the next need was going to be met. And yet, they never asked anyone for anything and never wanted for anything. Sometimes His provision is nothing short of miraculous, and sometimes it is the sound of God’s soft voice reminding us, “Don’t worry. I’ve got this.”
This is not to say that God’s faithfulness and goodness is diminished in any way when it seems like He has not answered the prayer or fulfilled the need. At a conference I attended not long ago, one of the speakers made the following statement, “Don’t confuse the results of something bad with how good God actually is. His goodness doesn’t change.” Unfortunately, what we want and what we need is not always known to us. Luckily though, God knows because He cares for us. I love the words in these promises from Matthew:

When I read those verses, I am reminded of one of my favorite childhood hymns (and one that continues to encourage me in times of trial).
His Eye is On the Sparrow
Why should I feel discouraged, why should the shadows come,
Why should my heart be lonely, and long for heaven and home,
When Jesus is my portion? My constant friend is He:
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me;
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.
Why should my heart be lonely, and long for heaven and home,
When Jesus is my portion? My constant friend is He:
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me;
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.
I sing because I’m happy,
I sing because I’m free,
For His eye is on the sparrow,
And I know He watches me.
“Let not your heart be troubled,” His tender word I hear,
And resting on His goodness, I lose my doubts and fears;
Though by the path He leadeth, but one step I may see;
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me;
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.
Whenever I am tempted, whenever clouds arise,
When songs give place to sighing, when hope within me dies,
I draw the closer to Him, from care He sets me free;
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me;
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me
When songs give place to sighing, when hope within me dies,
I draw the closer to Him, from care He sets me free;
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me;
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me
When you think that nothing else could go wrong and then it does, remember in those times that God is right there to prove His faithfulness and maybe to teach you something that you could not have learned any other way.
I pray that someday God allows me to encourage others with my stories of His provision. Do you have stories to share? If you have one, feel free to share it here so we can be reminded that God is at work every day in our lives.
His eye is on the sparrow, so I KNOW he watches me.