Daily Devotional
               Betty Miller shares her daily devotionals which are based on the book of Proverbs in the Bible.   

  The Wisdom of God

Verses for the Day:

Proverbs 13:25: "The righteous eateth to the satisfying of his soul: but the belly of the wicked shall want."

Thoughts for the Day:

Many of the statements in the book of Proverbs are observations of what happens to the righteous as opposed to what happens to the wicked. Proverbs 13:25 says that the righteous will never go hungry, while the wicked shall want. There are other scriptures that tell us the same thing.

Psalm 37:25-26: "I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread. He is ever merciful, and lendeth; and his seed is blessed."

God's Word makes many promises to those who follow and obey Him. One of those promises is that His people and their children will not lack food.  In fact, when we follow God and obey Him, we will have more than enough to be able to lend and give to others.  Over the years, I have heard of many amazing testimonies of people who had no food and yet, they prayed and had faith in God to supply.  He did not fail them, and some, through miracles, had food provided for them.

One woman who was a missionary in South America ran out of provisions, as funds from her homeland did not arrive on time. She and her daughter cried out to God when they came to the last of their food.  The next day to her amazement, a squash plant sprang up in her back yard and had full grown squash on it in the same day. A miracle had happened.  They ate squash for three days and then the plant wilted and died. The evening that the plant died, she had a knock on her door and there stood her landlord with several sacks of food.  He just thought she needed some food and came by to give it to her. He said that God had been speaking to him to do this for the last three days.  This food lasted until her support came from home.   What a wonderful testimony of God's provision!

Another amazing story of God's provision came from a Chinese Christian. This happened many years ago. A group of Christians who were meeting secretly to study God's Word in China, were discovered by the authorities and although I do not remember the details, they were persecuted and were forced to go hungry for a few days. Since the group was very hungry, they sought the Lord and ask Him to give them some food.  As they stood praying for food, they suddenly begin to testify to one another that they each felt like they had just set down and finished a full meal.  None of them were hungry anymore.  The Lord supernaturally removed the hunger and gave them the feeling of being full until natural provision came.

God will provide food when needed for His children, if there is not enough; He will also multiply it, so that all can eat. There are several accounts of this happening in the New Testament.  Jesus had compassion on a very large crowd who had followed Him for three days to hear His teachings.  He did not want to send them away hungry, as He was concerned that they might faint on the way home.

Matthew 15:32-38:

32 Then Jesus called his disciples unto him, and said, I have compassion on the multitude, because they continue with me now three days, and have nothing to eat: and I will not send them away fasting, lest they faint in the way.
33 And his disciples say unto him, Whence should we have so much bread in the wilderness, as to fill so great a multitude?
34 And Jesus saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? And they said, Seven, and a few little fishes.
35 And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground.
36 And he took the seven loaves and the fishes, and gave thanks, and brake them, and gave to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude.
37 And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the broken meat that was left seven baskets full.
38 And they that did eat were four thousand men, beside women and children.

This miracle of provision of the bread and fishes being multiplied shows the love of God for His people.  I have heard of many modern day testimonies of food being multiplied as well. In fact, we have experienced it personally ourselves, a number of times over the years. In circumstances where our food for a crowd was not enough, the Lord honored our prayers and multiplied it to take care of everyone's need.

The Old Testament records a story of how God took care of His prophet, Elijah, by causing birds to bring food to him every day. The story is recorded in 1 Kings 17:2-6:

2 And the word of the LORD came unto him (Elijah), saying,
3 Get thee hence, and turn thee eastward, and hide thyself by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan.
4 And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there.
5 So he went and did according unto the word of the LORD: for he went and dwelt by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan.
6 And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening; and he drank of the brook.

This should give us faith to know that the Lord will always provide for us if we are listening to and obeying Him. In fact, in the model prayer that Jesus prayed, a portion of that prayer was to ask for daily bread.

Mathew 6:9-13:
9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
11 Give us this day our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

The Lord does not want us to worry about where the necessities of life will come from. He promises us that if we seek His kingdom and His righteousness first, all these things shall be added to us.

Matthew 6:31-33:
31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

Prayer for the Day:

Dear Heavenly Father, Thank You for Your promise of daily provision.  You have always been so faithful to supply all of our needs.   Lord, help me to be sensitive to the needs of others, and share with them the things that You have blessed me with.  Lord, help me not to forget the poor and the hungry, just because I have plenty of food. I pray for the people in the countries of the world who are suffering in famine and war.  Lord, send the food and help needed to keep them alive, so that they might find eternal life through Christ if they do not know You. Move on the hearts of Your people to send assistance or go and help. Help Your people to reach out to the world with help and the Word of the Lord so they will come to know You and Your love. I ask in the name of the Lord Jesus. Amen.