“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.”
Psalms 23:1 NKJV
A popular Christian hymn goes
“Praise God from whom all blessings flow, praise Him all creatures here below! Praise Him above, ye heavenly host! Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost.”
The song accords God the title of Him from ‘whom ALL blessings flow.’ This is a worthy saying because God is indeed our source (Romans 11:36). Our jobs, family, friends, business partners are not our sources of provision. It is God who meets us at the point of our needs (Philippians 4:19)
God has proven ultimately, His ability to meet all our needs by meeting our most crucial need even before we had asked for it – the need for salvation. God was proactive in saving mankind.
We see a depiction of this in Genesis 22:11-15, when Abraham was about to sacrifice his only son as instructed by God, until God stopped him and provided a ram to be used instead. In verse 14, we see Abraham call the mountain ‘Jehovah-Jireh’ meaning ‘The Lord will provide”, in honour of what God had done.
In Romans 8:32, Apostle Paul assures us that if God could meet our need for salvation even before we knew we needed Him, then our physical needs are not a challenge to Him. When we are assured that all that we have comes from God and that He is able to provide for our needs, we will accord Him all our praises.
When we lack certain needs, we must not lose hope or doubt God’s provision, instead we are to fix our gaze on the ultimate provision – His son, Jesus Christ, through whom we have received eternal life.
More so, life is in fact, a proof of God’s provision (Psalms 3:5). When we desire riches and other wants, we tend to forget the needs that God meets everyday and the past needs which He had met. We must reflect on God’s goodness and hold fast to the assurance in His word.
We must recognise that we are helpless without God. We must not even subconsciously ascribe our riches and provision to people or ourselves. (James 1:16-17). When we see God as our ultimate source, we will truly appreciate Him for the blessings we receive.
We should not be those who only pray vehemently to request for things but appreciate God half-heartedly when we eventually receive those things. Remember that God loves a grateful heart. Jesus in Luke 17:17-19 commended the one leper out of the ten who were healed, who came back to appreciate Him.
Dear Believer, condition your heart to truly acknowledge God as your source, to thank Him everyday, to thank Him fervently and to worship Him wholeheartedly for His blessings towards us.
Bible Reading Plan: Psalms 128-130