“The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food in due season. You open your hand; you satisfy the desire of every living thing.” (Psalm 145:15-16 ESV)
We in the prosperous West are so accustomed to bounty that the true significance of provision is often overlooked. Most of us have fully stocked fridges and pantries and need only make a run to the grocery store around the corner to pick up anything we lack. We have largely lost the concept of “daily bread” because we have enough food to last for weeks. As we consider the verse before us, however, we are reminded of three things: the provision, the Provider, and the way in which the provision is given.
Firstly, we see, without any ambiguity, that we are provided for. We receive our food and our desires are satisfied. While we do and should labor to produce food (either by growing it ourselves or working to be able to purchase it), the truth is that it is provided for us. Ultimately, we are more recipients than we are procurers.
This means that when David says, “the eyes of all look to you,” that necessarily includes our eyes too. We must put aside our self-sufficiency and come humbly to the Lord knowing that “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change” (James 1:17). We should be diligent to work, but in an even deeper sense, we should live each day reminding ourselves that we are dependent upon the Lord to “open [his] hand” to satisfy our desires.
Secondly, the Lord is the one who provides for our needs. Our food is not granted by some amorphous “higher power” or by “the universe” but by the personal hand of a personal God. “The earth is the LORD’s and the fullness thereof” (Psalm 24:1), and “every beast of the forest is [his], the cattle on a thousand hills (Psalm 50:10). Everything belongs to the Lord and out of his innumerable storehouses he dispenses bountifully to satisfy the needs of his creatures.
We must also note that he does so entirely of his own good pleasure and grace. He is neither reluctant nor stingy to bestow these gifts but does so with an open hand. He delights to meet the needs of “every living thing” just as a father joyfully puts bread on the table of his hungry and eager children. However, unlike a human father he does not provide bread “by the sweat of [his] face” (Genesis 3:19), but by the almighty and providential rule of his omnipotent will. God’s provision is not like a reservoir out of which he dispenses a portion of his finite stores but like a spring that is ever overflowing with water yet never runs dry. We need not fear of asking for food too many times, as if we might eventually find God with empty pockets.
God is able to provide for us far more than we are able to ask of him. And how shall we thank the Lord for all that God gives us? By coming to him and asking for more. As David says in another Psalm, “What shall I render to the LORD for all his benefits to me? I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the LORD” (Psalm 116:12-13). When the Lord fills our cup, both for our spiritual needs and physical needs, we lift up the cup again and “call on the name of the LORD.” God never gives us so much that we no longer need his continual satisfying of our needs.
Which brings us to the final observation, which is that the dailyness of the provision is, in itself, a blessing. We may think of God’s provision of manna as a pattern. There we read, “Morning by morning they gathered it, each as much as he could eat; but when the sun grew hot, it melted” (Exodus 16:21). The Lord did not provide manna for a month at a time or even a week at a time, but each day he rained down the bread for his people so that they never went without food yet were constantly dependent upon him.
So too it is for us. Even as most of us have far more than we need, even that which we have requires dependence on the Lord. He does provide (Matthew 6:25-30), but he does so “in due season.” According to his wisdom, in his time, he opens his hand to satisfy the desires of his hungry sheep. We must never fear that he will leave us destitute, but neither may we become presumptuous and think we no longer need our “daily bread” from him.
Prayer:
Heavenly Father,
You are always faithful to provide all that we need to fulfill the calling you have given us. Keep us from fear of not having enough, but never give us so much that we forget our need of your gracious provision.
In Jesus’ name, amen.
Prayer Requests:
- Tuesday: Pray for missionaries working with those affected by the massive flooding in Bangladesh.
- Wednesday: Pray for missionaries serving in theological education at Ambassador International University in Zambia.
- Thursday: Pray for missionaries serving at Ensenada Discipleship Center in Chile.
- Friday: Pray for missionaries who are nearing retirement from the field that the Lord would encourage and guide them in their next season of ministry.
- Saturday: Pray for pastors who labor to raise up new missionaries from among their congregations, that they would have wisdom to identify and train those who are called to missions.
- Sunday: Pray for missionaries who are dealing with travel and visa issues related to their field of ministry that their difficulties would be resolved quickly.
- Monday: Pray for missionaries serving with Beautiful Feet International and other pro-life ministries.
