Welcome to the Victory Blog

This year, during the month of June, we’re joining with over a thousand other churches across the nation in a movement called, One Prayer, in which we will all be talking about the same subject: “God is….” One Prayer began in 2008 with around 600 churches focused on bringing the Church together in unity and purpose and seeking to be the answer to Jesus’ prayer in John 17 that we would be one.

Last year, the churches that were involved took an offering for the purpose of starting churches in Cambodia, China, Sudan and India. Their combined giving resulted in the planting of 660 new churches in these countries. This year, with over a thousand churches of all sizes and denominations joining together, our goal is to see at least 1,000 more churches planted in these countries, as well as building health clinics, digging wells, etc.

However, this is an unusual time in our history. There is a lot of fear and worry permeating our society. Regrettably, giving is one of the first things to go out of the window for most people in difficult times. Rather than trusting God, we tend to start hoarding what we have and looking to others, or to our own efforts, as the source of our provision. That is why I felt it was important to start this series by focusing on the truth that God Is…Our Provider.

My introduction to this truth began not long after I became a believer. I felt God leading me to sell my successful business, start a new life in a new town and help a small church in Richmond, Virginia. I assumed that as long as I obeyed God, everything would work out perfectly – that I would get a new, good job right away and everything would just fall right into place. It didn’t. I went unemployed for four months, and before long, I was out of money with more bills still to pay. In the midst of this, God took me through a major transition in my thinking in which I learned to trust completely in god as my provider, no matter what the circumstances looked like. It wasn’t easy, but it deeply impacted the rest of my life. It’s a transition that we all need to go through.

The problem is WORRY. According to Jesus’ words in Matthew 6, worry is the number one sign we do not really believe that God is our provider. In fact, worrying is practical atheism! It is us trying to control our situation. We have the mistaken belief that if we worry long or hard enough, something will change. In reality, worrying does nothing to help; it only hurts us.

When I asked the Lord why we worry so much, He answered that we are more focused on trying to survive than on fulfilling purpose. And, as long as that’s the case, we’re on our own. Why? Well, when survival becomes our focus, we start to worry, which equates to taking matters out of God’s hands and into our own. So, God lovingly steps back and lets the difficult consequences of our independent efforts show us how much we need Him. On the other hand, as we focus on God and fulfilling His purposes, putting our total trust in Him, provision comes. God doesn’t call us to do something and then not provide for it. On that note, if provision’s not coming in, one thing to check is whether we’re doing what God’s called us to do, or just what we want to do.

As we trust in Him, God will provide – not necessarily our wants, but definitely our needs. And no, He doesn’t always do it according to our expectations, or in our timing. But, He is good and perfect and loves us more than we can imagine. He will provide exactly what we need when we need it; in His perfect timing. He is all about working all things out for our good. The question is, do we trust Him with all our heart? If so, it will be evident in how we think (the battleground of our minds), how we give and use our money and how we pray. If not, don’t you think we’ve spent way too much time and energy putting our trust in ourselves and others instead of God? Let me urge you to put aside fear and worry. Trust that God is…in His perfect, faithful love… our provider. Without a doubt, He WILL provide for ALL our needs!

This is just a portion of what I spoke about this last weekend. I encourage you to listen to or watch this message here.