Where God Provides, He is Guiding...

     I'm sure most of you have heard the saying, "Where God guides, God provides." We don't see the exact words in Scripture, but we do see their truth ring out in many, many passages. For instance, God guided the people of Israel out of Egypt and back to their homeland. He provided a way of escape through the Red Sea. He gave them shade and direction as the pillar of cloud, and light and warmth as the pillar of fire. He fed them, He quenched their thirst. The list goes on and on. And this is repeated throughout the Bible. God has always chosen to guide people to their destination for His glory, and He provides all that they need along the way.

     Sometimes, we don't see God guiding as well as we'd like. Why? Not because God isn't guiding, but because He is building our faith in Him. It is at these times that we need to switch the saying around. You might be thinking, "Jason, you can't do that. If you reverse the statement it won't mean the same thing." I beg to differ...and I can show you why through some basic mathematics. Let's say that we have 2 variables, A and B. If we say A = 5, and we say that B = 5, then we can also say that A = B. In the same way, we could also say that B = A. Because both variables are equal to 5, we can set them equal to each other, and it doesn't matter which ones comes first.

     If you're confused about variables, and thinking that you don't use mathematical basics like "variables" everyday...when was the last time you measured something? Or you asked the distance from one place to another? Those are all variables. When someone asks you for the length and width of your countertop piece at Home Depot, they are actually giving you two variables to solve for. You simply put in the length and width you measured at home. Wow...I dedicated a whole paragraph to a tangent. Back to our original statement...

     If "God guides" where "God provides", then we can also say that "God provides" where "God guides." They are both present in either situation, we just notice one before the other. Sometimes, we feel God calling us to do something or to go somewhere. We then see God provide us with the means to do or go as He has called us to. Other times, we see God provide something and we have no idea what it's for. We then see God call us to use that provision to do or go as He calls.

     In my own life, I see the first instance the most. God called me to go to Brasil on a missions trip during my senior year of high school, I then watched as He provided the funds to do so. God called me to learn more about Him through a Bible college. He provided Cornerstone: School Of Ministry at my church. God called me to minister to Children. He brought Child Evangelism Fellowship into my life so I could do just that.

     Recently, however, I've seen the opposite. God has provided some really amazing things in the past 3 weeks. I don't see Him guiding me in what to do with them, but at the same time, I do. Everything that He has provided in the last 3 weeks is guiding me into something that I can't even begin to explain. And yet, if I had never thought to flip the statement around, I would think that all of this was merely my own doing and that it wasn't from Him. Oh how wrong I would be to think that!!!

     As some of you might have seen on my recent facebook status, three years ago I was at a Bible study where went over Proverbs 3:5-6. Here's the passage so you can see for yourself: 

Trust in the LORD with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding;
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct your paths.

     At the time I wondered, "I wonder what it means when it says God will direct my paths?" Now I see that God has been directing them this whole time. Starting almost exactly 3 years ago, I started to look at life differently. I began to see things through God's eyes. I started seeking His face in order to know what to do. And now I can see what that has changed in my life. I looked up the word used here for "direct." The word is yashur (yaw-sure) It means to make straight, right, pleasant or prosperous. So, in my mind, the verses become something like this:

Trust in God with everything you have

Rely on His knowledge

Do everything with His permission

And He will make your life better than you ever dreamed.

     Yeah...that pretty much sums it all up. I know where God is guiding me, because I can see where He is providing for me. (And yes...that means I'm really, really sure about the identity of the "gift". Like...98% sure...and no, I'm not telling you what it is.) I will continue to search out God's will for me, not because of the awesome benefits that it brings, although they are really awesome :), but because a life with Him is so much better than anything I could ever do on my own. Why would I ever want to go back to doing things my way?

Godspeed!
-Jason