Day 8/13 – Provision

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Thoughts from the Diary of a Desperate Man by Walter A Henrichsen (“Walt”)
Provision
Day Two Hundred Twenty-five

“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” Matthew 6:33

If you have children, in all likelihood, when they were young they did not worry about where they were going to sleep that night, nor where the next meal would come from. They felt they did not have to, for it was under your care. Most children don’t even think about such matters. Granted, many children in the world are hungry and cold, simply because they have no parents, or their parents are too poverty stricken to provide.

The degree to which you become preoccupied with what you eat and wear, and where you will lodge at night, reflects one of three things: First, you feel you have no Parent providing for you. Second, He is so impoverished that He cannot provide. Third, you have a Parent who can provide, but wants you to take care of your own needs. If you are a child of God, you know that He can easily provide. The only remaining question is, will He provide or does He want you to do it?

Jesus said, ‘Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.”293 Again the Savior assures you, “Or what man of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!”294

When you live acting like your daily needs are your responsibility, you offend your Heavenly Father as surely as you would be offended if your child questioned your ability to provide.

293 Matthew 6:31-32
294 Matthew 7:9, 11

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Psalm 87-88 Romans 13 (New King James Version)

Psalm 87-88
The Glories of the City of God
A Psalm of the sons of Korah. A Song.
87
His foundation is in the holy mountains.
2
The Lord loves the gates of Zion
More than all the dwellings of Jacob.
3
Glorious things are spoken of you,
O city of God! Selah
4
“I will make mention of [a]Rahab and Babylon to those who know Me;
Behold, O Philistia and Tyre, with Ethiopia:
‘This one was born there.’ ”
5
And of Zion it will be said,
“This one and that one were born in her;
And the Most High Himself shall establish her.”
6
The Lord will record,
When He registers the peoples:
“This one was born there.” Selah
7
Both the singers and the players on instruments say,
“All my springs are in you.”
A Prayer for Help in Despondency
A Song. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. To the Chief Musician. Set to “Mahalath Leannoth.” A [b]Contemplation of Heman the Ezrahite.
88
O Lord, God of my salvation,
I have cried out day and night before You.
2
Let my prayer come before You;
[c]Incline Your ear to my cry.
3
For my soul is full of troubles,
And my life draws near to the grave.
4
I am counted with those who go[d] down to the pit;
I am like a man who has no strength,
5
[e]Adrift among the dead,
Like the slain who lie in the grave,
Whom You remember no more,
And who are cut off from Your hand.
6
You have laid me in the lowest pit,
In darkness, in the depths.
7
Your wrath lies heavy upon me,
And You have afflicted me with all Your waves. Selah
8
You have [f]put away my acquaintances far from me;
You have made me an abomination to them;
I am shut up, and I cannot get out;
9
My eye wastes away because of affliction.
Lord, I have called daily upon You;
I have stretched out my hands to You.
10
Will You work wonders for the dead?
Shall [g]the dead arise and praise You? Selah
11
Shall Your lovingkindness be declared in the grave?
Or Your faithfulness in the place of destruction?
12
Shall Your wonders be known in the dark?
And Your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?
13
But to You I have cried out, O Lord,
And in the morning my prayer comes before You.
14
Lord, why do You cast off my soul?
Why do You hide Your face from me?
15
I have been afflicted and ready to die from my youth;
I suffer Your terrors;
I am distraught.
16
Your fierce wrath has gone over me;
Your terrors have [h]cut me off.
17
They came around me all day long like water;
They engulfed me altogether.
18
Loved one and friend You have put far from me,
And my acquaintances into darkness.
Footnotes:
• Psalm 87:4 Egypt
• Psalm 88:1 Heb. Maschil
• Psalm 88:2 Listen to
• Psalm 88:4 Die
• Psalm 88:5 Lit. Free
• Psalm 88:8 taken away my friends
• Psalm 88:10 shades, ghosts
• Psalm 88:16 destroyed me

Romans 13
Submit to Government
13 Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. 2 Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will [a]bring judgment on themselves. 3 For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same. 4 For he is God’s minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil. 5 Therefore you must be subject, not only because of wrath but also for conscience’ sake. 6 For because of this you also pay taxes, for they are God’s ministers attending continually to this very thing. 7 Render therefore to all their due: taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor.
Love Your Neighbor
8 Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law. 9 For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” [b]“You shall not bear false witness,” “You shall not covet,” and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 10 Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.
Put on Christ
11 And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. 12 The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. 13 Let us walk [c]properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. 14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.
Footnotes:
• Romans 13:2 Lit. receive
• Romans 13:9 NU omits “You shall not bear false witness,”
• Romans 13:13 decently