HF Kids: God is Our Provider

Scripture: Matthew 14:13-21
Lesson Summary: A large crowd of 5,000 men plus more women and children follow Jesus. When it is time to eat, the disciples suggest that Jesus should send the crowds away because they cannot possibly feed that many people. But Jesus tells them to go and gather what they can, then he turns five loaves of bread and two fish into enough food to feed the whole crowd… with twelve baskets of leftovers!
The point: God is our provider
Verse of the month: “God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son int the world so that we might have eternal life through him.” 1 John 1:9
Bonus Verse: “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us…” Ephesians 3:20

God always provides, but it is often in ways we haven’t imagined.

When my three oldest kids were approaching their teens, my husband and I were pretty strapped financially. It had been a rough couple of years for our construction company after the housing market collapsed, so, to save money, we were sharing one car along with other economies.

During this time, I remember praying that somehow God would provide vehicles for the boys to drive when they turned 16, knowing that it would be important for their independence and their ability to get jobs and get to school. I even wrote it down and tucked it into my Bible then sort of forgot about it.

Our first son got his license and our second was fast approaching his 16th birthday and we were all still sharing the big white van. The hope that God would provide cars for them had become a distant memory replaced by discouragement and reluctant acceptance knowing we could not provide for them the way we had intended.

Out of the blue, a friend called to say they were moving and had a vehicle to give us. What?? And not one vehicle, but TWO! They did not run, but if we wanted to tow them away, we were welcome to them. Now, this did not look like much of a gift at the time, but my kids went to work researching the problem and were able to fix one of the vehicles within a week! They sold the other to a mechanic and made some money for the inevitable repairs to come.
Wow! The Lord provided! But that is not the end of the story.

Over the next several years my kids were offered SIX more cars in varying stages of repair. They never went without transportation while they were living at home. They continued to learn more about motors, mechanics, body work, scrap yards, creative parking, trouble shooting, personal responsibility, and GRATITUDE. They never took those vehicles for granted and they were invested in keeping them road worthy. God not only answered my prayer for vehicles, but he provided for a prayer I didn’t even know to pray by growing my children’s character and resourcefulness.

Because of this, the boys learned to recognize the Source of Provision. After they left home, the stories continued to roll in: unexpected monetary gifts, grants and scholarships, just the right job, the perfect roommate, favor from faculty and professors, computers and phones when old ones died, even another car at just the right moment! God provided it ALL!
Is there anything you need right now? Ask your Heavenly Father. Like this Mama who wanted what seemed unattainable for my boys, He wants abundance for you! Ask him to provide as only He can! God always comes through, and like the loaves and fishes it is often in a way we could not have imagined.

“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us…” Ephesians 3:20

~Ms. Kelly