I love reading stories of George Muller. He was a German man who helped over 10,000 orphans. He lived completely by faith. One morning he knew the pantry was empty, but the kids needed to eat. He sat them all down at their tables for breakfast and prayed to thank God for their food. Not long after saying, “Amen,” there was a knock on the door. A baker said the Lord woke him up in the middle of the night to bake bread for the kids. He handed over enough bread for them to eat. Then there was another knock on the door. A milk delivery wagon got stuck and offered them all their milk. God provided for their need.
In 1 Samuel 21, Saul was trying to kill David out of jealousy. Jonathan warned him and he fled to the town of Nob, which was the spiritual center of Israel at the time. He was hungry and tired from his journey as he entered the tabernacle. The priest saw him and wanted to know why he was there. David told him he was on a mission, but needed food. The on,y thing available was the bread reserved for priests. Verse 6 says, “Since there was no other food available, the priest gave him the holy bread—the Bread of the Presence that was placed before the Lord in the Tabernacle. It had just been replaced that day with fresh bread” (NLT). This bread represented God provision and protection for Israel. Ahimelech, the priest, understood God’s compassion and provided the bread to David.
Isaiah 55:1 says, “Is anyone thirsty? Come and drink— even if you have no money! Come, take your choice of wine or milk— it’s all free!” God’s blessings and provision are freely given to us. They can’t be earned. He’s looking for those who are spiritually hungry and thirst to come to the place of His presence. He’s waiting for those who come to the place where they realize they can’t do everything on their own and must live by faith. When we come to that place, He offers provision and protection for us. When we realize we have nothing but what He offers is when we realize we have everything. What God offers can only be bought with desire, humility and surrender. It can be scary to stand there with nothing the way George Muller and David did, but they both trusted God to provide and He did.
Photo by Skyler Ewing on Unsplash
Devotions by Chris Hendrix 