"Provision Ahead of Time"

"And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him." Matthew 2:13

Two verses prior to this one we read about the wise men presenting their gifts to the Christ child. When they presented their gifts, perhaps Mary and Joseph began to have ideas about what to do with them. Perhaps it could be used to build a more suitable house for their special new arrival or put up for His "college fund" later? But in hindsight we see that God was sending a provision ahead of time to meet a need that was right around the corner... "flee to Egypt". The Lord saw beforetime the trip they would have to make and the expenses it would entail. He saw the need to purchase a place for them to live once they got to Egypt. He knew that Joseph would have a find another job, or start a new business, in a strange place, and that they would have to eat in the meantime. So the gifts were given to provide for their upcoming needs.

When the Lord blesses us, we tend to think about what we are going to do with it- perhaps purchase something we have been desiring to have, or put it aside for later use. I can remember going through a really hard financial period in our lives- not always knowing where our next meal would come from. The Lord would bless us with an unexpected financial blessing but in a day or two something unforeseen would arise that would take all of it. It seemed as if we were never going to "get ahead". I have heard so many other people say this same thing. They would receive a financial blessing, but no sooner than they did some expense would take all of it.

It took me a while to understand that what was happening was not the "devour coming to take what I had", it was the Lord seeing ahead and making provision for the need. The Lord saw what was coming, so He sent what I would need so that when it came I would have it. (This is what He did for Mary and Joseph.) One of His names is Jehovah-Jireh (God our Provider, the One who sees ahead and makes provision, the One who will "see to it"). Beloved, this is what is going on more times than not when this happens to us. Instead of rejoicing and thanking God that the provision was there when the need presented itself, we bemoan and complain about it being taken. We need to change our attitude about the way we see things and consider that there may be another reason why God has sent this blessing.

Have a great day. The provision the Lord sends is not always about the present, sometimes it is about what lies ahead.

For further reading:
Matthew 2:1-14
Philippians 4:19

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Coffee Break is a morning devotional written by Lorraine Ezell
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