“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good testimony. By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.” (NKJ)
It amazes me to see things that are made, particularly things immense. I remember visiting the Spruce Goose when it was in Long Beach. It’s an airplane built by Howard Hughes entirely out of wood. When I walked into the hanger, my mind just couldn’t get around the huge dimensions. I saw it, but it was so unbelievable! It was the same when we visited St. Louis and saw the Arch. I can’t imagine how it was conceived or built. Or Mt. Rushmore with the images of the presidents. All this to say, everything here on earth was built using materials: wood, rock, steel. And everything was built with some kind of tools, even if those tools were human hands.
But God, the Father, created the entire universe and everything in it without materials. He simply spoke them into existence. “God said, ‘Let there be light"; and there was light.’” (Genesis 1:3 NKJ). Imagine! He spoke . . . and it was, whatever it is. The writer of Hebrews understood how totally un-understandable that kind of concept is because he said that we understand it by faith. We believe it because God said it.
The thing is, if God can create the universe out of nothing, but simply by speaking it, how much more is He able to take care of our daily needs which are small by comparison? The Lord Jesus taught us:
"Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.” (Matthew 6:25-32 NKJ)
We are living in uncertain times. Some of the uncertainty may be the result of our own sinful decisions and yet, Father God is still ready and willing to take care of those needs if we will only trust Him. He knows what we need and is ready to supply it. Do we have material needs? He will provide. Do we have emotional needs? He is wanting to provide if we will trust Him. But first comes faith and then provision. And faith is trusting in that which we don’t yet see because we trust in the character of the One will is going to provide.
The question comes down to whether or not we believe that God will do what He says He will do. The Lord Jesus equates “little faith” with worry and He challenges us to trust the Father to provide for us. He created the universe. Surely He can take care of the small needs that we have today.
© 2010 Robin L. O’Hare. All rights reserved. Permission granted for nonprofit and church groups to use this article in its entirety (including this notice). For other uses, please contact servinggodalone@yahoo.com.
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