He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God. For the ministry of this service is not only supplying the needs of the saints but is also overflowing in many thanksgivings to God. (II Corinthians 9:10-12 ESV)
Food and Hope
A stage magician once promised me that I would amaze my friends if I purchased his magic trick. I was hesitant to make the purchase. I doubted his prediction would be accurate. Even though I yearned to be coordinated, entertaining, and amazing, my clumsy attempts to perform acts of prestidigitation had not gone particularly well in the past.
Laughter, yes… rolling of eyes, yes… ‘back to the drawing board,’ yes. But a successful trick? Not likely.
But I bought the trick. And it worked! It was a mechanical trick that allowed the performer to appear to levitate small items. And the wide eyes surrounded me. No one could figure it out. The promise was fulfilled!
I admit, though, that I am still often cynical about promises.
When God promises something, we do not believe. When God declares a blessed future, we wonder. When God gives hope, we seem to prefer to doubt.
Paul reminds us of God’s promise, oft made, to supply our needs. (Philippians 4:19, Malachi 3:10, Psalm 23:1, Matthew 6:31, et. al.)We doubt that promise. We ponder questions that seem reasonable to us concerning God’s provenance. What if He needs to discipline us? What if someone else needs more than I do? What if I am not ‘helping myself’ enough, so God will not help me? What if He knows what I am REALLY like? What if He did not really mean it?
Paul gives us a reason to hope, though. Because while God does give His children what we need for the simple reason that He loves us… there is a beautiful facet that lets us better expect hope to be fulfilled.
It is not just for US that He provides… it is also for HIS glory.
If God would only grant us physical blessings (like food) because WE need those things, we might at times doubt, worry, and fear. Because we really are not gift-worthy. But God ALSO grants us physical blessings so that we see again, and again, and again how gracious He is. We see how kind He is. We see how merciful He is.
And then we say those words that He deserves, that He enjoys, that He loves to hear… and that we actually learn to love to say: Thank You.
God enables us to hope so that we can be thankful now and tomorrow.
Take the hope that God gives us.