Who’s Your Provider?
We took all five of our children out for dinner at a nice restaurant the other night. With the kids now ages 10 to 17, only one could eat off the kids’ menu. That means that when our waitress finished her tabulating, she didn’t bring us a bill. She brought us a mortgage. What a relief that interest rates are still low right now. Those 30-year dinner tabs can be murder. The waitress seemed pretty excited, though. I think she’s buying a sports car with the tip money. So much for the kids’ college. At least we had a really nice dinner. That’s good because it looks like from here on out the kids are going to need to take turns eating.
It was such a wonderful feeling to have the waitress deliver the mega-bill to Richie and not me. I’m so thankful for the way he provides for our family. And boy, am I spoiled. My checkbook hasn’t had a balance in it for our entire 24 years of marriage. Richie is the one who gets any money ulcers our family earns. When I need to write a big check, I ask Richie first. Richie answers in much the same way the Lord answers when I pray: “Yes,” “No,” or “Wait.”
Speaking of God’s answers, Richie is a wonderful reminder to me of my Heavenly Father’s provision. Just as Richie provides for his children, our Heavenly Father provides for His. He is Jehovah-jireh: “The Lord will provide.”
Acts
Our Heavenly Father provides even more than rain, food and happiness—more than just the “30-year” kind of need. As a matter of fact, He provided for our greatest need—our eternal need—not even sparing His own Son to do it. He paid our tab when it was utterly impossible to pay. Imagine, the same God who provided life in the first place, went all out to provide salvation too—life in the second place. Praise God for His magnificent and lavish provision!
When we
praise the God who provides, we provide a testimony to a world who hasn’t yet
met the Provider. Incidentally, guess
what the receptionist asked me the last time was at the doctor’s office. Right.
She asked for the name of my provider.
Did she leave herself wide open for that one, or what?
Rhonda Rhea juggles her writing and speaking
ministries around chasing her five children and running to keep up with her
pastoring husband, Richie, pastor of First Baptist Church of Troy,
Missouri. She is a conference speaker
for special events across the country and writes inspirational humor columns
for many Christian publications in the