Harold has attended my church for years. I had the enjoyment of marrying him and his wife. Today, he’s a college teacher, but his hobby is beekeeping. Until I recently asked Harold what number of bees he owned, I pictured him with about fifty bees swarming around him. To my astonishment, he said that he had six colonies. When I asked him what number of bees are in a colony, his answer was tens of tens of hundreds. Honey is fascinating in that it not only has healing properties but will be stored indefinitely at room temperature. Archaeologists have even discovered honey contained in the tombs of pharaohs, and at hundreds of years old, it continues to be preserved. In scripture, honey represents God’s abundance of provision.
Quite a couple of years ago, God began to indicate me that my prayers weren’t as pleasing to Him as they could possibly be. While I saw my prayers as petitioning God, in point of fact, I used to be anxious and praying panic-filled prayers. What do I mean by this? Instead of trusting in God’s guarantees, I used to be doubting them. Rather than seeing God nearly as good, I used to be reacting as if God was withholding good from me. Panic-filled prayers focus more on our needs than on God’s ability to supply. God began to show me that I cannot stand on His guarantees and pray panic-filled prayers at the identical time. I needed to settle inside my heart if I really believed Philippians 4:19,
“And my God will supply every need of yours in accordance with his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”
How would your prayer life change should you knew God wouldn’t fail? God’s provision is directly linked to His goodness, and that is why Satan wants you to doubt that God is sweet. Provide is an interesting word study throughout scripture. I even have come to like its meaning since it is so wealthy and stuffed with truth. We first come across it in Genesis 22:8. Abraham waited twenty-five years for God to meet the promise of a son. Isaac was born when Abraham was 100 years old. Soon afterward, when Isaac was almost certainly in his later teen years, God told Abraham to sacrifice his son. I even have all the time wondered why Abraham was willing to do the unthinkable. Hebrews 11:19 gives the reply,
“He considered that God was able even to boost him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back.”
Abraham’s faith can construct our own once we consider the meaning of the word provide, present in Genesis 22:8. When you break the word down, pro means before. Vide is where we get our English word video, which implies to observe or to see. The word implies that before you and I even have a necessity that arises, God has already seen the necessity before it ever reaches our life. So, the subsequent time you’re thinking that of the word provision, remind yourself that God already has the answer.
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