PROVISION

Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give. provide neither gold nor silver nor copper in your money belts, nor bag for your journey, nor two tunics, nor sandals, nor staffs; for a worker is worthy of his food (Matthew10:8-10 New King James Version).

Jesus gave power to His disciples to perform the same miracles He, Himself, performed, and then He sent them out into the nation of Israel (Matthew 10:1-6). Imagine how the disciples must have felt to be given such a task! Also, they were told not to take any extra provisions with them, neither monetary, nor clothing. Can you imagine their hesitation and discomfort? However, He tells them, “a worker is worthy of his food” (v.10), meaning if they obeyed Him and went to Israel healing the sick, casting out demons, cleansing the lepers and raising the dead, all their needs would be met. He told them not to accept payment for doing these things…”freely you have received, freely give” (v.8). Jesus did not put a price on His miracles and neither should we. He freely gave His life for us so our sin-debt would be paid, and He provides for all of our needs when we fully trust in God (Matthew 6:31-34).

During the course of our walk with Christ, He is going to ask us to take leaps of faith, He’s going to ask us to step out of our comfort zones, as well as think out of the box, because the road we travel with Him is not easy (Matthew 7:14). Things which make us comfortable, and our current knowledge of what we think is the “righteous” way of doing things, can change in an instant the closer we come to Christ. The more we draw near to Him the more He challenges us to become more like Him.

Perhaps the Lord has been calling you to something new and different. Perhaps He has been pulling you ever closer to Him and requiring more obedience from you. Is He telling you today to “go, sell everything you have and give the money to the poor, take up your cross and follow me.” (Mark 10:21) Step out from where you are comfortable and into the encouraging arms of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Let’s Pray: Dear Lord, Thank You for Your faithfulness and Your provision. Open our eyes and ears to see the comfortable box we have surrounded ourselves with, and grant us strength and Your grace to step out of that box and closer to You. Help us to break down the barriers that keep us from fully trusting in You, make our faith real. Challenge us Lord to become more like You in every way, Show us our true selves, reveal our true hearts, speak to us Lord. Help us to put aside our flesh and become more fully devoted worshippers of You. Whatever in us that is hindering Your cleansing, Your purging of ourselves, we ask that You reveal it and remove it. Grant us spirits that are more obedient; cause us to know deep in our hearts Your desires for us. Grant us the fire of Your Spirit to empower us and strengthen us for Your purposes and to draw us closer to You. We pray in Your name, Jesus, Amen.

Today’s Attitude of Worship: What kind of a box do you live in? Is it one that you have to cut to open? Is it one you have to take a jackhammer to in order to crack the foundation? Does your box have windows or doors? Examine where you are spiritually and look to see if God has asked you to step out of your box and into His hand.

Additional Scriptures: See passage above

Shalom,

Prudence

***Adapted from my book Today’s Bible Treasure, Simple Christianity Volume 1***