Wow, does our uncle pay for a lot more than we realized! Uncle Sam, that is. The prospect of a government shutdown is revealing all the people and services that would feel the pain if Uncle doesn't get some money. Suddenly, America's military and government workers - who do more things for us than we ever thought - won't be seeing their paycheck on time. It looks like even our National Parks will be affected. Does this mean Smokey the Bear might not get paid?
Beyond all the convoluted politics, I'm thinking about times when our personal supply line shut down. Like the time the ministry we worked in couldn't pay us. We were six months behind in salary and two years behind in getting our expenses reimbursed. My wife worked for a Christian organization who had some "Chicken and Stars" soup left over from summer camps. That kept us going for a little while - although I haven't eaten any "Chicken and Stars" since then. We reached the point where the fridge literally was empty. Well, almost empty. There was this half a bottle of ketchup. But neither of us could think of a good ketchup recipe. No food and no money to buy any.
That morning we again committed our need to our Heavenly Father and went off to work. When we got home that night, the fridge was still empty. Well, almost empty. Did I mention the ketchup? Suddenly, the doorbell rang. I opened the door and met a miracle. Up the stairs came one lady after another, carrying a big bag of groceries. They didn't know about our need, but their women's missionary group was having a meeting and up and decided to have a "pantry shower" for the Hutchcrafts. It might as well have been God Himself coming up the stairs with all that food.
I can't begin to tell all the times - and ways - that amazing God has shown up when the usual supply line shut down. It's true that God often, even usually, supplies through our job and our paycheck. But there are those times when that faucet is suddenly turned off. That's when God has said to me, "Ron, did you think it was your work or your boss that was providing for you all this time? That was just one of My many delivery systems. I'm your Provider, My son. And I never run out of resources."
Jesus was pretty plain about this: "Don't worry about having enough food or drink or clothing...Your Heavenly Father already knows all your needs, and He will give you all you need from day to day if you live for Him..." (Matthew 6:31-33 - NLB).
If you've put your trust in Jesus, you belong to the God whose "compassions never fail. They are new every morning" (Lamentations 3:22-23). He's the faithful Father who is infinitely creative in how He meets our needs. Bread from heaven. Water from rocks. Shoes that don't wear out. A lunch that feeds a multitude. Food delivered daily by ravens. Or ladies from the church.
When the usual supply line suddenly shuts down, it might be a good idea to open the window. For the ravens.