Theology Thursday 20 - In Visa We Trust

Moses said to them, “It is the bread the LORD has given you to eat. This is what the LORD has commanded: ‘Each one is to gather as much as they need. Take an omer for each person you have in your tent.’” The Israelites did as they were told; some gathered much, some little. And when they measured it by the omer, the one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little. Each one had gathered just as much as they needed. – Exodus 16:15-18

God gives us exactly what we need.

For 40 years the Israelites wandered through the desert and God always provided for them. As we see in the passage above, God’s provision of manna was never too much and never too little; he always gave the Israelites exactly what they needed. God may not rain down bread from heaven for us today but we should still trust in his provision.

As I was sitting through the last session of the Financial Peace University class I led through the summer, I began to think about how God’s provision related to credit cards. A large portion of the class focuses on eliminating credit card debt, which is gained by overspending and not preparing for emergencies. And even though God’s provision is everything we need, we often think we need more and turn to credit cards. God promises to give us everything we need but when we place our trust in credit cards we’re saying one of two things: either we don’t trust that God will take care of us or we think we need more than God is willing to provide.

When we turn to credit cards for provision, we’re a lot like the Israelites when they turned to Egypt and Assyria for protection. God had promised to be their God and care for his people yet, instead of trusting in his provision, the Israelites went wandering off. They either didn’t trust that God would care for them or that the provision he was willing to provide wasn’t good enough.

Credit cards are a practical way for us to say, “God, I don’t trust you” or “God, I don’t believe you’re going to give me everything I need.” Do we really want to say that to God? And further on down the road, when the debt stacks up and we finally decide to pay it back, how much of God’s provision is going to be spent paying for our lack of trust?

“The one who gathered too much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little.” God gives us everything we need. How can you live that out today?