God’s Provision Gives Us Hope
Bible Readings
Take a few minutes to read the Bible verses listed and ask the Holy Spirit to lead you in how this verse applies to you this week.
Memory Verse
I pray that God will take care of all your needs with the wonderful blessings that come from Christ Jesus! (CEV)
Archie bounced out of bed and ran to the living room. “Is it time?”
His father laughed. “You just woke up. Your birthday party is after lunch.”
“It’s going to be amazing! I can’t wait for the cake!”
“The cake!” His father’s face fell. “I forgot to order the cake. Could we pick up some donuts on the way instead?”
“Yeah. Okay,” said Archie sadly.
The doorbell rang. Archie opened it and a delivery driver handed him a box with a cake inside. “Are you Archie? Happy birthday!”
“But I didn’t order a cake,” said Archie’s dad.
The woman shrugged. “This is the address, and it says ‘Happy Birthday Archie!’ on it. So, surprise!”
When it’s your birthday, you hope your family will give you the present you want and remember to buy the cake. But they might make a mistake. God promises to give us better gifts (Matthew 7:9-11), and he promises to “take care of all [our] needs” (Philippians 4:19). They don’t even have to be big needs, because God loves us so much. When we remember how God says he will provide for us, it gives us hope we can trust that he will do what he promises.
But it’s also important to remember that God’s gifts might not look the way we expect. Just look at how he saved us. He sent his Son to earth as a baby. And then when Jesus grew up, he died on a cross. That’s not how you would have expected him to save us from our sins.
So remember, even if you don’t understand why things are happening the way they are, you can always trust God to provide for you, because he loves you very much.
Prayer
Dear God, thank you so much for all of the gifts you give me. Please help me to always notice them. Amen.Related Resources
Christina Van Starkenburg
Christina Van Starkenburg is an award-winning freelance writer and author of The Key Thief and One Tiny Turtle: A Story You Can Colour. In her free time, she enjoys reading, dancing, and exploring the world with her husband and three kids. Visit her at www.christinavanstarkenburg.com to read more.