Can I really trust God to provide for me and take care of me?

Psalm 23:1-4The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need. He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams. He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name. Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me.

Psalm 50:15“Call on me when you are in trouble, and I will rescue you, and you will give me glory.”

God wants us to trust him to supply our needs. Trusting God means we have faith that he will come through for us in our times of need. That level of confidence is best developed during times when there is no crisis on the horizon.

Joshua 3:9-10So Joshua told the Israelites, “Come and listen to what the Lord your God says. Today you will know that the living God is among you. He will surely drive out the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites, and Jebusites ahead of you.”

Our obedience to God is a prerequisite to his special ongoing provision for us. When we submit to his plan and will for us, we make ourselves available to receive his care, and he promises to take care of us.

Exodus 16:4-30Then the Lord said to Moses, “Look, I’m going to rain down food from heaven for you. Each day the people can go out and pick up as much food as they need for that day. . . .” Then Moses told them [the people], “Do not keep any of it until morning.” But some of them didn’t listen and kept some of it until morning. But by then it was full of maggots and had a terrible smell.

God’s provision of manna for his people in the wilderness offers important lessons. God faithfully provided a daily supply of food for his people for forty years. Some doubted God’s instruction that they should only take enough for one day at a time (except on Friday when they were allowed to gather enough for the Sabbath). God was teaching his people to trust him for their food each and every day, and not to worry about the next day. He wanted his people to know by experience that he was trustworthy and would always provide. We also can be sure God will care for our physical needs if we are willing to obey him and be thankful for what he gives us. Too often we ask God to provide for us, but then think he hasn’t provided because we didn’t get everything we wanted, when we wanted it, and how we wanted it. We must trust God for the provision he gives us, and also be thankful for what he provides and how he provides it. God always has our best in mind.

2 Peter 1:3-4By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence. And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires.

We can trust God to care for our spiritual needs. God has provided spiritual resources and wisdom to those who seek him. This is all part of our vital relationship with God in which we discover that our physical provisions are only a small part of what he gives us. The best God has given to us is himself, which includes his indwelling Holy Spirit, who helps us to grow more and more like him.

Philippians 4:19This same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.

God’s supplies are unlimited. He does not dole them out sparingly, but lavishes them on us according to his infinite generosity. And just as Paul did, we should take time to encourage others to depend more completely on our loving God, who promises to provide what we need.

John 4:13-14Jesus replied, “Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again. But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.”

John 6:35Jesus replied, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”

We can trust God to fill our deepest hunger and thirst. The bread of life and living water are as essential to spiritual life as food and water are to our physical bodies. God knows that our biggest needs are to have our hearts filled with the love and power of Christ himself.

Ephesians 1:7-8He [God] is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins. He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding.

Through the richness of his grace, God has provided for our greatest need—forgiveness of sin and salvation in Jesus Christ. And our ongoing relationship God is filled with his kindness, wisdom, and understanding. By grace, we can experience both the joy of knowing God and being known by God.