Who is Your Provider?

You desire and do not have, so you murder.  You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel.  You do not have, because you do not ask.  James 4:2

One of my least favorite things to do is to ask people for money (unless, of course, I’m getting change for my bill at the grocery store).  That’s why God’s call on Kari and me to move to Brazil was such a challenge: we had to ask people to partner financially with us.  I loathe asking people to give money to me, but how could we ever fund our missionary endeavors if we didn’t ask people?

Interestingly enough, I only directly asked two people to support us regularly, and one of them said “no.”  What was amazing to me then and continues to be amazing to me now is that God provided for all of our financial needs.  Every step of the way, we had exactly what we needed, and it came in spite of my inability to ask.  Now I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with asking people to give, I’m just saying I’m not good at it.

When it comes to our provisions, it’s really an issue of trust.  If you believe that your heavenly Father is trustworthy, then you also have to believe that He is giving you exactly what He wants you to have.  Since He’s your provider, you don’t have to worry about making things happen by your own strength; you can rely on Him as long as you’re doing your part, too (after all, it’s foolish to presume upon God to provide if you’re not doing the best you can on your own).