Do you ever wonder if God is enough for you in times of deep need? Allow me to share about when He showered His mind-blowing provision on us during a time of significant loss in June, 2013. At midnight, I awoke and noticed an orange glow on the windows of our master bedroom. Somebody’s house is on fire, was my initial reaction. Without even gathering a coherent thought, I jumped out of bed, hurried to the door by the driveway and saw the fire. But the fire wasn’t at someone else’s house. The fire was shooting out of our attic vents.
As you can imagine, I went into a full state of panic, and I raced back to wake up my husband, Chris. My mind was not entirely clear, but I did know to do one thing: Get my three sons out of this burning house. I was relieved once we were all safely outside.
Within hours, everything was completely different. Life-alteringly different. The thought, this only happens to other people, was in the forefront of my mind as trauma began to set in. But even in the depths of this type of trauma, God is enough I believed that. I clung to that assurance.
Ever been here? This place of life-altering change within a matter of hours or minutes? You’re going about your day and then, BAM! Nothing is the same and everything is different. In times of deep grief and significant loss, I can assure you that our God will provide in ways you’ve never conceived of. Not only did He provide for us materially with family, friends, and church members giving to us in abundance, but He also held us up when we were fatigued mentally and emotionally from the traumatic experience we endured. God showed His amazing provision in our lives, and then went way beyond that and taught us many life lessons.
Here are three things I learned when I remembered that God is enough:
- It didn’t hurt as badly as I imagined it would. Here’s why: I wasn’t planning a funeral the following week. Sure, I didn’t have any shoes, or a toothbrush, or a bed to lie in, but my husband and my sons were alive. That is the only thing that even matters. You can purchase more clothes, furniture, and a house, but you cannot replace human lives. Our week of talking with insurance adjusters and finding a new place to live was nothing compared to loss of life. This dose of perspective was huge for me.
- It’s the little things that matter. When I say we lost everything, I really mean it. I had one pair of shorts and a tank top when I ran out of our house. No furniture, no computer, and no home. However, as the weeks passed, we would occasionally find things that had survived the flames—like the seven-foot piece of wood I used to measure the heights of my sons and a handful of old pictures that somehow did not burn up. My heart never would’ve skipped a beat if I found my favorite armchair or pair of boots somehow intact the way it did when we found a box of irreplaceable picture memories.
- God owns it all. Yes, this stuff was in our possession, but we would never have owned it had it not been by the miraculous, provisional hand of our great God in the first place. And when God owns it all, it doesn’t matter when it’s gone. If He provided it then, He will provide it again.
You may find yourself in a real place of need. If that’s your situation, I’ve got good news for you. God doesn’t just provide in miraculous ways, He provides in the everyday ways. He sees you and knows your needs and your desires. Ask Him. He loves to provide for His children. He will supply all of your needs in Christ Jesus. If He provides for the birds of the air, will He not provide for you? He most definitely will.
Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Matthew 6:26 NIV
