Does God Provide?

The language of non-believers and the worldly is usually negative with respect to God’s merciful care for humans. They keep on talking of overpopulation and food shortages plus a thousand other mixed problems. But when the Son of God, Jesus, came to our world, He indicated the clear facts to us. “Look at the birds of the air, they do not sow or reap or gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father takes care of them. How much more of you, are you not worth much more than they? And why worry about clothing? Think of the flowers growing in the fields; they never have to work or spin; yet I assure you that not even Solomon in all his regalia was robed like one of these. Now if that is how God clothes the grass in the field which is there today and thrown into the furnace tomorrow, will he not much more look after you, you men of little faith? So do not worry; do not say, ‘What are we to eat? What are we to drink? How are we to be clothed?’ It is the pagans who set their hearts on all these things. Your heavenly Father knows you need them all. Set your hearts on his kingdom first, and on his righteousness, and these other things will be given you as well. So do not worry about tomorrow: tomorrow will take care of itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own” (Mt. 6:25-34).

Even the great Carmelite mystic, St. Teresa of Avila, expresses a fact --“God took care of us in the past, till this very moment he has taken care of us, therefore there is no doubt he will take care of us in the future.” Trust in God is a reality. God is alive. Yet he works His miracles when we deeply and sincerely trust in Him. So He says in Mk. 9:24: “Everything is possible for anyone who has faith” - and in Mk. 11:24 “I give you my word, if you are ready to believe that you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer, it shall be done for you.” Many people have found this statement true based on their true and sincere faith in God and deep personal experience.

Psalm 33:16 expresses the deep trust in God thus: “A large army will not keep a king safe, nor does the hero escape by his great strength; it is delusion to rely on the horse for safety, for all its power it cannot save. But see how the eye of Yahweh is on those who fear him, on those who rely on his love, to rescue their souls from death and keep them alive in famine.”