When We Don't Know Our Needs

I was driving down 108 from Columbia Mall, car running on fumes, with two thoughts on my mind: Lord, let me find a gas station soon! and Do I really need this money? I had just met with someone I'll be tutoring, someone who insisted he pay me up front: $300 in cash. I really don't need extra money, but I felt a small voice say, It's my provision for you. I really am not in any hard place, and really offered to help more out of helping a friend than getting pay. The comment didn't make sense to me, but I forgot about it as I began to realize that if I did not find a gas station soon, I'd be stranded on the side of the road. Suddennly, I saw it: a small, little off-brand gas station with the cheapest gas I'd seen. As I eagerly turned in to the gas station, I read a sign that said, "Cash only." Then I understood. Had I not gotten paid in cash, I would not have had any cash to get gas.

It's neat how God provides for us before we know we need provision, which makes me think more closely about my life. How many frustrations in my life are there because of God's provision? If the frustrations at work are causing me to think about a new "career," then should I really view these frustrations as trials, or as God's way of nudging me? Just a thought as we enter the season of giving. God provided His Son, but he also provides for us every days. His mercies are new every day.