One of the cool things about being God, or at least I think it's pretty cool, is that you get to call yourself whatever you want. And God does. He has multiple names, one of which is Jehovah Jireh, the God who 'sees to it', aka the God who provides. But, do we really live as though he does? Is God really enough for us or do we need more?

DOES GOD PROVIDE?

We read a story in the Old Testament about Abraham who learns one of the names of God, through his faith and obedience in trusting that God will provide. You can read it in Genesis 22 but it's the story about him taking Isaac up a mountain and God providing a ram for the offering. He had the means to take care of it himself, but he didn't because he trusted that God had a better plan.

God also provides non-tangible things like peace, love, kindness etc. and those are incredibly important because we can't save ourselves. We can improve ourselves and work on things but if we supercharge that growth with God's provision through his spirit, things change exponentially more for our benefit.

DO OUR ACTIONS SUPPORT THAT IDEA?

We say we believe that God provides, but our actions often say something different. They say that we provide, that we have things covered. That we don't want to push ourselves outside our comfort zone to give God the freedom to provide because that would be uncomfortable, and we don't like uncomfortable. So we stay away from it as much as we can.

Many of us live in a way that says God doesn't provide, so we should just take care of everything on our own. That leads us to make decisions as if we provide. Call it impatience, call it a lack of clarity, call it whatever you like but there's a disconnect in a country like America where we're so blessed, and places in the rest of the world that have to literally trust God on a daily basis for water, food and shelter.I'm not saying we need to become like them, but it's all relative and so in our lives, and our world, we should put ourselves in situations bigger than us, that need faith in God and his ability to provide, on a regular basis. If we don't, our faith becomes anaemic and weak. This is one of the reasons why we can't stand against the spiritual attacks that come our way as believers.

PROVISION FROM OTHERS

James chapter 2 talks about the walk we're supposed to live, which is that when we see someone in need and we're in a position to help, we should step up and do it. No ifs, no buts, just do it. It's one of the ways God provides. Through his team.This isn't about putting a few dollars in the offering bucket, it's about practically helping others when we can, as an outward example of the faith we profess.

Does merely talking about faith indicate that a person really has it? For instance, you come upon an old friend dressed in rags and half-starved and say, “Good morning, friend! Be clothed in Christ! Be filled with the Holy Spirit!” and walk off without providing so much as a coat or a cup of soup—where does that get you? Isn’t it obvious that God-talk without God-acts is outrageous nonsense?

THE MOST IMPORTANT THING GOD PROVIDES IS HIMSELF

God loves to reveal himself to his creation (us). This is his greatest provision, himself. The ability to communicate with him, the ability to know him. That's why he provided Jesus! His son yet himself.As he provides his love, forgiveness, grace, wisdom and guidance (and more) only then can we live a fulfilled life. Although we need his provision in the real world, in tangible ways, we can't overlook the spiritual and in-tangible things he offers because they affect our eternity.

KEY NOTES

• Talking to Jesus isn't just a cool phrase to quote, it's something we need to do. Daily.

• If we never have to live by faith, how do we prove that we do live by faith?

• We're trying to live a seven figure Christian life on a $10 budget.

• God provides his voice, direction and help for our lives. We can only go so far without them.

• God's voice is one of the most important things he provides but in the church, in general it's the thing we look for provision of the least.

• We should want to see God move and the only way to do that is to put ourselves out there in such a way that we need him to so he's able to.

• Is God really enough for you no matter what's happening in your life?