Wednesday, February 17, 2010

God's Crazy Extremes To Prove His Providence

"When they came to Capernaum, the collectors of the half-shekel tax went up to Peter and said, "Does your teacher not pay the tax?" He said, "Yes." And when he came into the house, Jesus spoke to him first, saying, "What do you think, Simon? From whom do kings of the earth take toll or tax? From their sons or from others? And when he said, "From others," Jesus aid to him, "Then the sons are free.  However, not to give offense to them, go to the sea and cast a hook and take the first fish that comes up, and when you open its mouth you will find a shekel.  Take that and give it to them for me and for yourself." — Matthew 17:24-27 (ESV)


I am convinced: God knows how to provide.  He takes care of his kids.  Some read that and say, "Then why are there so many people around the world who are starving and going without?" The thing is, I believe that God is asking us that exact same question.  How often do I pray for God to meet someone's needs without first asking God if I am the answer to their prayer for provision? Does it seem right that I pray for God's provision for someone else when he has blessed me so that I can be used by him to meet needs? This doesn't make sense.

God does take care of needs.  And honestly, there are times when he will go to some pretty serious extremes in order to prove it.  To pay the temple tax, Jesus sent Simon fishing.  When he pulled the fish in, there were the two coins necessary to pay for the temple tax.

If you have, you are called to give.  If you are receiving, accept in order that one day you can give back to others who are in need.  It's amazing how things would look if we actually just took care of each other.  Ultimately, it's about God meeting needs, no matter what he has to do to make it happen.  Just beware: he may be crazy enough to use you.

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