Tag: Philippians 4

He Knows Our Every Need

One hundred and seven dollars. That’s the amount of money I had to spend on groceries for my husband and me. God had graciously provided it, and I went to the store earlier this evening to purchase the items that we needed.

I had made a list, so I careened through the aisles with my shopping cart, checking things off of the list as I grabbed them. Two items that I needed and that were really good deals, I actually obtained the LAST of those items on the shelf. There were several things on my list that I decided not to pick up. Although I probably should have, I didn’t add up the amount of each item as I went along to know how much my total would be.

When I pushed my cart into the check-out lane and the nice girl at the register began to scan my items, I started to get anxious. The cost of the items was adding up quickly, and it looked as if I would go over the amount of money that I possessed. I told the cashier that I would probably need to take a few items off of my purchase, and I pulled them out of the bags that they had been placed into.

My subtotal came to about one hundred and twenty dollars, but I still had coupons that needed to be deducted. As the cashier scanned each coupon, I watched the total amount due go down. When she finished scanning the coupons, the total due came to a little over one hundred and four dollars. I couldn’t believe it — I had just enough money!

I paid for the groceries and wheeled my cart out to my car, so incredibly grateful to God for His goodness. He loved me so much that He had guided my choices of items so that I was within the amount of money that I had available. It was like God was whispering to me, “It’s going to be okay. I’ve got you.”

So often I doubt Him. So many times I worry and obsess, wondering how things are going to get paid for, or how I’m going to have enough time to complete the tasks that are laid out before me. But the Lord reminded me tonight that my worries are unfounded. I have a God who knows the number of hairs on my head. He sees each tear that I cry. He has a name for every star in the universe. He is aware of every sparrow that falls to the ground. And this Almighty God cares about me.

He is so good! I pray that I will remember this special lesson that He taught me tonight, in such a way that I would recognize and respond to. When times get tough, I can recall this memory and be encouraged to keep moving forward.

The God of the Universe knows our every need, and He will provide for us as we trust in and walk with Him. ❤

Photo Credit: Crystal Knauss

Sing Sweetest in the Dark

Sing a little song of trust,

Oh my heart!

Sing it just because you must,

As leaves start;

As flowers push their way through dust;

Sing, my heart, because you must.

Wait not for an eager throng —

Bird on bird;

It’s the solitary song

That is heard.

Every voice at dawn will start,

Be a nightingale, my heart!

Sing across the winter snow,

Pierce the cloud;

Sing when mists are drooping low —

Clear and loud;

But sing sweetest in the dark;

He who slumbers not will hark.

And when He hears you sing, He will bend down with a smile on His kind face. As He cheerfully listens, He will say, “Sing on, dear child. I hear you and I am coming to deliver you. I will carry that load for you. So just lean hard on Me, and the road will get smoother by and by.”

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! – Philippians 4:4

~ Taken from Streams in the Desert, December 28th

Photo Credit: Singing Nightingale, an acrylic painting by Laura Milnor Iverson