A God Who Richly Provides

My hope is in the One who provides.

September 23

If my hope is in people, events, accomplishments, or money, I am on a slippery slope. People will disappoint us. This is the nature of human beings. People will disappoint me, I will disappoint others and I will disappoint myself. Even those people who are always trying to do the right thing will sometimes fail. We cannot be everything to everybody.

What about the events in our lives? The things we long for. Maybe for you, it’s marriage, children, and grandchildren. Maybe, it is the school you want to go to. The vacations you want to have. A simple gathering of friends. We simply cannot plan and control all the details of our lives. Things don’t always turn out the way we planned.

We all have things we hope to accomplish in our lives. My daughter hopes to be an Opera singer. I don’t know if those dreams will happen. She has the talent to succeed. She has been told so by people in positions to know. She has the drive and work ethic to succeed, and she has the determination to keep pushing. But none of this guarantees her success.

Money can be made fast in a great investment or slow over years of hard work and wise use. Money can also be lost overnight. Money can afford you a lot of wonderful things. I don’t need to list them, I am sure your mind has already conjured a plethora of desires, some benevolent and some selfish. What I know is this; I have met many people with money who are not happy and have lost their hope. I have also met people of wealth who live abundant lives. Some of the most content people in this world are those with meager means. Money is not the answer it is simply a tool. If my hope is placed in the things of this world I will be disappointed. When life is good, it is easy to have hope in the future, because the future looks bright. So how do I not lose hope?

My hope is in the One who provides.

Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy.

1 Timothy 6:17 NASB

Look at this verse and realize it is not just monetary wealth Timothy is talking about. Re-read this verse, and substitute the different ways we can be rich that are listed below.

Rich in relationships

Rich in abundant life

Rich in accomplishments

Rich in wealth

Instruct those who are rich in relationships in this present world not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches in relationships, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy.

Try this with each of the ways we can be rich listed above. Try it with any other ways you are putting your hope in. The more specific you are the personal it will be.

What God reminded me this morning as I was waking up is that my hope is in Him, and Him alone. I do not know what my future holds, so I must hold all of it loosely in my hands, allowing God to take out and put in all He desires. Have you ever wanted to surprise someone with something, a gift, a party, or just something special? They know you are doing something and they keep asking what you are up to. You simply reply, trust me, you’re really going to like it. You won’t be disappointed. Just trust me. That is what God was saying this morning. No matter what happens or doesn’t happen God has good plans for me. Even if thighs don’t turn out as I expected, or hoped for, I will not be disappointed, because He is God who richly provides.