Welcome to the Grace Café. I appreciate all who have linked here the past several weeks. I had intended to share more about my “adventure” last Saturday at the nature preserve and things God showed me through that experience. However, this has been an extremely busy week, and I have started co-leading a Beth Moore Bible study. If any of you have taken one of her studies, you know the homework is very in-depth. Therefore, I decided to share a devotional I wrote sometime back that was published in Granola Bar Devotions with the title “He Cares for You”. This happened to me about six years ago.
While driving to Bible study one evening, I cried out to the Lord, “Don’t you care?” A few days earlier, my husband suffered chest pains and required a visit to the emergency room. It turned out the pain was due to gastrointestinal problems and he was able to return home. However, we had to pay the hospital bill. Two years earlier, John lost his job and health insurance. With his history of cancer, obtaining coverage was not easy. He found employment, but no benefits. For two years, I prayed that God would provide him with insurance.
He doesn’t care. If He did, He would have already answered my prayer. If God promises to meet all our needs, why has He not provided for this? Honestly, I was angry with God.
I glanced over at my study book, Jennifer Rothschild’s Walking by Faith – Lessons Learned in the Dark. How could I attend a Bible study, talk to others about faith, and still doubt God? Then, of all the scriptures containing affirmation of His love and care, the Lord brought to my mind Jesus’ words found in Matthew 10:29-31: “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.”
I immediately repented of my doubt and anger. If God cares about the little sparrows, without doubt He cares for His children. I pulled in the driveway of my friend’s house just in time to see one of the study leaders walk through her front door. When I got out of the car and stepped on her porch, I saw a small bird lying near the front door. It had flown into her glass storm door and was not there when Vicki arrived only moments earlier. I knew God placed the little bird as a confirmation of His love for me.
He provided a way to pay the hospital bill. Through that experience, I learned to trust Jehovah Jireh—The Lord who provides. Today, John has a different job and insurance. God answered my prayer.
Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that He may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because He cares for you. (1 Peter 5:6-7, NIV)
