2 Kings 3-4, 2 Corinthians 11
If I must boast, I would rather boast about the things that show how weak I am.. – 2 Corinthians 11:30 ESV
Our God provides. That is the story of the Bible. He provided creation. He provided man with life and a perfect, unblemished relationship with Himself. He provided Adam and Eve with an idyllic environment in which to live. But they sinned, and their actions brought death into the world. But God continued to provide. He provided Abraham with many descendants. He provided the Israelites with a liberator to help free them from slavery in Egypt. He provided them with the Law. He provided them with the Promised Land. He provided them with His presence and power. He provided them a kingdom and, in David, a king who was a man after God's own heart. But they continued to reject Him and live in rebellion to Him. And even though God would be forced to punish Israel for its unfaithfulness, He would provide them with a ticket back to the land He had promised to their forefathers. And while they would continue to live unfaithfully and disobediently, God would eventually provide them with a Messiah. God provides.
What does this passage reveal about God?
In the 3rd and 4th chapters of 2 Kings, we see God provide water for the armies of Israel and Judah. He then provides them with victory over the Moabites. He provided oil for the widow and her son. He provided a son for a childless woman with an elderly husband. And when that son died prematurely and unexpectedly, God provided him with restored life. He provided a remedy for stew that contained highly poisonous ingredients. And during a famine in the land, God managed to provide enough food for 100 men from just 20 loaves of barley bread and a few ears of grain. God is in the providing business. And when God provides, He does it far better than any man could do. He has power and provisions unavailable to us. He can do what no one else could ever dream of doing.
What does this passage reveal about man?
But one of the problems with us as man, is that we tend to want to provide for ourselves. We don't like to wait on God or to have to depend on God, so we step in and attempt to do things on our own. Our pride gets in the way and we find ourselves attempting to provide our own way and meet our own needs. But we will never measure up to God when it comes to providing. He is in a class by Himself. Paul knew that it was when he recognized his own weakness and dependency on God that he really grew stronger. Paul had gone through a lot in his life, suffering all kinds of trials and troubles in his role as a messenger of the gospel of Jesus Christ. “I have worked harder, been put in prison more often, been whipped times without number, and faced death again and again. Five different times the Jewish leaders gave me thirty-nine lashes. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked. Once I spent a whole night and a day adrift at sea” (2 Corinthians 11:23-25 ESV). Paul was weak and he knew it. But he found joy in boasting about his weakness, because he knew that it was in his own weakness that God's power showed up. God provided when Paul couldn't.
How would I apply what I’ve read to my own life?
God loves providing for His people. He enjoys showing just how powerful and capable He really is. But we have to allow Him the opportunity to provide. We have to acknowledge and come to grips with our own weakness. We have to be okay with our own inabilities and insufficiencies. But when we are weak and willing to admit it, we stand ready to discover just how powerful God is. Then we get the thrilling opportunity to see God provide in ways that we could never have imagined.
Father, You are the great provider. But I don't rely upon You near enough. Far too often I take matters into my own hands and attempt to meet my own needs. But it is always better to watch You work and to allow You to do what only You can do. Amen