Deuteronomy 8:4
New International Version
Your clothes did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these forty years.
Lauren Cunninham once said, “God provided all the provisions of the Israelites in the desert. Also, their shoes never wore out, nor their clothes. Good thing they weren’t wearing white patent leather shoes and light blue sear suckers at the time of their exile!”
God miraculously provides, always.
When the freed Israelites were let out of Egypt, the Egyptians loaded them down with heavy gold and jewels upon their departure. The gold and jewels were melted down to make the false ‘god’ calf made out of gold while they were still in the desert. The clothes they had on their backs lasted until they got to the promised land. God sustains the necessary things that we need. I think theIsraelites doubted God’s provisions and that’s why they accepted the heavy gifts. They walked through the desert with them for 40 years, the gifts served for nothing but hassle, and betrayal. God’s provision provided for their necessities and safe passage.
Jesus, upon sending out pairs of His disciples did the same thing. Just theclothes on their backs with no provisions for the next day. 11 of them got theidea. They knew that God provides. Judas didn’t get it though. He wanted a retirement fund, a house on the beach, a salary. The 11 were just happy that they were with Jesus, that He would supply all their needs. Judas was just a hireling, a salaried employee. The others were servants of the Lord God most High.
I love being questioned and challenged. I sometimes say with pride, as a defense mechanism, ‘I take good care of my family and we never let people leave our home without feeding them first’. The fact of the matter is, I really have nothing to do with it. A wise friend of mine recently asked me, ‘Who feeds them, really?’ I realized, ‘Not me!!! That’s for sure, but it is God who feeds all of us, that was a great question bro!!! thank you!!’
I realized then and there, that ever since I got saved, almost 40 years ago, no one has ever left my house wanting for food. My family has never gone hungry. We have never missed payroll here at the preschool! Not bad considering we live in the 2nd poorest country in the western hemisphere. We get lots of hungry people coming to our home, our feeding centers, and our school/kids clubs etc. no one has left hungry, ever. Considering that we live on less than what is considered minimum wage in the states, and that my daughter gets to go to a private school here, and that I have a family and feeding centers and a free school, that is amazing. God provides for everything. Even my secular job. He makes even that a possibility.
Truly our ‘seersuckers’ and ‘white patent leather shoes’ have not worn out on the way to the promised land. By the way, we have been doing this since theearly 90’s. God has met the basic needs of me, my family, and all the people that have come to us for help. Real needs are met, always.
God provides. Either you believe in Him or you don’t. But I praise God for providing for everyone who comes to us for help. They feel free to come because they know that we are Christians.
They will know that we are Christians by our love.