Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing
The Lord provides.
This is one of those phrases that you hear and think to yourself:
"Yeah, God will give me what I need, but what can I do to make sure I have everything I need…"
I pray for God to give me what I need and want. I pray for the desires of my heart. Sometimes He decides to give them to me, and sometimes He has other plans in mind.
A couple of days ago, I had a great, big humorous reality check, as the Lord so often loves to do.
He physically gave me what I needed:
a towel and a tube of toothpaste
After a service at the opening of a new church the other night, the members handed out gifts as people walked out the door. Everyone received a towel and a random household item. Someone got a sponge, someone got detergent, and I got TOOTHPASTE. You don't understand my excitement at this large bottle of toothpaste. I had wanted to buy some literally two days before, but I didn't want to spend the money. I'd been making the little I had left in a tube last. The Lord decided to just hand me a whole thing of toothpaste for free!
Also, I had accidentally left my towel in Bangkok the week before, and what do you know, I was given a new one. Unfortunately, I had already bought a new one, but hey, two towels is never a bad thing. It's almost funny that God just was like,
"I know what you need, so here these things physically are."
"I know what you need, so here these things physically are."
Why do we not expect him to give us what we need, especially when we pray for specific things?
As I sat and thought about this during the long ride home in the back of the truck, I saw three shooting stars, yet another small display of God's mightiness. God is just showing me so incredibly much through the little things each day! Through small gestures of love and daily blessings, I am reminded of His greatness. I am reminded of how much He cares not only for me, but for all of Thailand. His presence has been made known so much through the little things in these past two weeks. The government is letting us visit the Chanthaburi women's prison a second time, which is uncharacteristic of the institution. The national parks and museums have been letting us in for free because we are teaching English. We are being led to people with leprosy. We even had the blessing of getting to ride elephants! God is opening so many doors for Him to work through us and bless us.
There are so many times where we don't give him the room to do His will, and we try to provide and plan for ourselves, as if we know what is best.
God's got our backs, and for me, He usually makes this known in some sort of humorous way.
He cares enough to give me a towel and a bottle of toothpaste:
simple reminders that I'm right in the middle of his hand.
My soul followeth hard after thee: thy right hand upholdeth me.
Psalm 63:8
"The impulse to pursue God originates with God, but the outworking of that impulse is our following hard after him; and all the time we are pursuing Him we are already in His hand."
A.W. Tozer
It's just cool how God is showing me and telling me more about myself and Him every day.
I can't get enough of it.
I can't get enough of it.
