When faced with uncertain times, we have no choice but to place our trust in something greater than ourselves. This is because in these times we do not have the answers and must seek them from someone or something greater than us. Some of us turn to God in these times, but who do people choosing not to believe in God turn to? In this posting, we will contrast trusting on God during these times against trusting in government programs and officials to help us.
Philippians 4:19 says “And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.” (NLT). Those choosing to place their trust in God are depending on God to supply their needs out of his resources. The question we must ask is if God is willing to meet our needs. In addition, does God have the resources to meet our needs?
During a great famine in Israel, a poor widow was preparing to cook the last meal for her son and herself when she encountered Elijah. This is the Biblical account of the story.
1 Kings 17:10-16
"Would you please bring me a cup of water?" 11 As she was going to get it, he called to her, "Bring me a bite of bread, too."
12 But she said, "I swear by the LORD your God that I don't have a single piece of bread in the house. And I have only a handful of flour left in the jar and a little cooking oil in the bottom of the jug. I was just gathering a few sticks to cook this last meal, and then my son and I will die."
13 But Elijah said to her, "Don't be afraid! Go ahead and cook that 'last meal,' but bake me a little loaf of bread first. Afterward there will still be enough food for you and your son. 14 For this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: There will always be plenty of flour and oil left in your containers until the time when the LORD sends rain and the crops grow again!"
15 So she did as Elijah said, and she and Elijah and her son continued to eat from her supply of flour and oil for many days. 16 For no matter how much they used, there was always enough left in the containers, just as the LORD had promised through Elijah.
NLT
However, how do we know this is not just some mythological story that cannot be verified? Since there no witnesses living to verify the story, we can only look at the facts surrounding the story. First, there was a drought in the land at this time. Second, Elijah, a Jewish prophet was traveling to a Gentile city, hardly a place where he would be welcomed. If a Jewish prophet had entered a Gentile city and demanded a poor starving widow’s last meal, there is not doubt the other inhabitants of the city would have turned him over to the King from whom Elijah was running. The only reason the inhabitants would not have turned Elijah in is if they believed the widow’s needs were being taken care of, which they were in a supernatural fashion by God.
In another case, Peter and Jesus owed their taxes but lacked the resources to pay them. This is the biblical account of the story.
Matt 17:24-27
24 On their arrival in Capernaum, the tax collectors for the Temple tax came to Peter and asked him, "Doesn't your teacher pay the Temple tax?"
25 "Of course he does," Peter replied. Then he went into the house to talk to Jesus about it.
But before he had a chance to speak, Jesus asked him, "What do you think, Peter? Do kings tax their own people or the foreigners they have conquered?"
26 "They tax the foreigners," Peter replied.
"Well, then," Jesus said, "the citizens are free! 27 However, we don't want to offend them, so go down to the lake and throw in a line. Open the mouth of the first fish you catch, and you will find a coin. Take the coin and pay the tax for both of us."
NLT
Once again, the Bible presents a story for which we have no direct verification. However, since the Roman government and Jewish high priests at the time viewed Jesus as a threat, they would have taken any opportunity to arrest him. The fact that we have no record of an arrest of Jesus, other than the account in the Garden of Gethsemane, forces us to believe that Jesus and Peter were able to pay their tax. Otherwise, the Roman's would have arrested them for non-payment of their taxes.
As far as having the resources to meet our needs we have to look at Genesis 1. If we are going to choose to trust God to meet our needs, we must also believe that He created everything around us. If God created everything around us, it is not difficult to believe that he can meet our needs. This is a biblical account of some of the resources God possesses.
Ps 50:10-12
10 For all the animals of the forest are mine,
and I own the cattle on a thousand hills.
11 Every bird of the mountains
and all the animals of the field belong to me.
12 If I were hungry, I would not mention it to you,
for all the world is mine and everything in it.
NLT
The story of the widow and Elijah along with the story of Peter and Jesus paying their taxes show us that God is willing to meet our needs. The account in Psalms 50:10-12 and Genesis 1 show us he has the resources to meet our needs and if for some reason he does not have the resources, he can create them. However, if we choose not to believe in God to meet our needs, we can always trust in the Government.
The Government is willing to meet our needs. At least that is what politicians say during political campaigns. However, the continual war on poverty and failure of government programs like Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid say differently. During political campaigns, politicians will say anything to get votes. However, once they get into office and discover that they lack the resources to make good on their promises, the needs of the voters who placed them in office, often are forgotten.
However, politicians can pass legislation to meet the voter’s needs by taking it from others through taxation, printing or creating more money, or borrowing it from some foreign government. So, let us take a moment to look at the effects of these policies.
Taxing others to meet the needs of voters may meet the voter’s needs that the politician promised to meet in the election, but it creates needs in other areas. For example, taxing the wealthy to provide healthcare or additional entitlement programs means that wealthy employers have less capital to build their businesses. In fact, they may have to downsize their businesses to pay the additional taxes. This means fewer new jobs and lay-offs due to downsizing. Therefore, voters receive the promised healthcare plan and other entitlement programs at the expense of jobs.
Printing or creating more money to meet these needs increases the money supply in the economy. This leads to inflation through devaluation of the dollar because it takes more dollars to pay for what we want to buy. In other words, the voter’s needs are met at the expense of paying more for other things they need
Borrowing money from foreign countries places us at their mercy. What if the foreign country demands immediate payment of the debt? What if our country lacks the resources to pay the debt? This situation could compromise our national security and place the population at risk. In other words, the voter’s needs are met at the expense of national security.
The problem with dependence on Government to meet our needs is that even if the Government has the desire to meet the voter’s needs, they lack the resources to do so and must take resources away from someone else, cause inflation, or risk national security to make good on their promises.
This is why I believe that the best place to put our trust during uncertain times is in God. Even though both God and Government may have the desire to meet our needs, their motives for having this desire are different. God loves us and does not want to see us perish.
Ps 37:25
25 Once I was young, and now I am old.
Yet I have never seen the godly forsaken,
nor seen their children begging for bread.
NLT
John 3:16
16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.
NLT
God’s motives are to care for our physical needs out of his rich resources and meet our spiritual needs though the sacrifice of his only Son, Jesus. Politicians running for office are only interested in one thing, our vote. After receiving our vote, they have little incentive to work on meeting our needs, at least until the next election.
However, the biggest reason for my belief in placing our trust in God is that he has infinite resources available for meeting our needs. This does not mean we will all have a mansion or luxury car if we place our trust in God, but that our physical needs (Philippians 4:19, Psalm 37:25, Matthew 6:33) and spiritual needs (John 3:16) will be met.
Take a moment today and place your trust in God. If you have not placed your trust in God for meeting your spiritual need for salvation, I encourage you to do it know. The Bible tells us in Romans 10:9-10
9 For if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved.
NLT
Now with the same trust you placed in God to save you, trust him to meet your physical needs as well and watch what happens.
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