In this 20Twenty discussion, we explored God’s word about provision for our finances with money expert, Alex Cook. Alex is the founder of Wealth with Purpose and joined us to share his thoughts on how we start talking about God and His provision for His people.
With so many people around Australia doing it tough at the moment, Alex feels it’s really important to bring it back to basics and to say, what is it that God is willing to do for His people? When we read the Bible, we learn about God’s character, and this is the starting point of God’s provision. When you understand who He is and what He’s like, you have that sense of God being your loving father. Any parent can relate to this, because when you’ve got kids you feel this massive desire to provide for them.
“One of the great stresses in our society is when men lose their jobs,” says Alex. “Their greatest fear is not being able to provide for their families. But yet we have this eternal father who in Heaven, who is able to provide for us in all sorts of ways. So what I really want to encourage is to reflect on who God is, and what His character is like. Then you will have an understanding of what God can do for you.”
“We have this God who is above everything, who is all powerful and can provide for us in supernatural ways. And because He’s a loving father, he actually wants to do that. So the challenge I really want to put out there initially is the idea that you have a loving father in heaven, who cares for you very deeply. He’s not going to leave you alone and leave you struggling.”
Alex believes that the real issue is to get to know God personally. The remarkable thing about the Christian faith is that you can actually have a personal relationship with the God of the universe. In tough seasons we have the opportunity to go back to basics. To spend time in prayer, not in a legalistic sense, but just to start our day with God and spend time in the Word. If we have a distorted image of God, we are going to really struggle to trust him for provision. We need to replace that with Biblical truth about who God really is.
“I love the story about Jesus feeding the 5,000,” says Alex. “That was the ultimate in supernatural provision. And in an earthly sense that can also happen. I’ve heard lots of miraculous stories over the years, but sometimes God just provides in very natural ways. Maybe He provides you with a job. He provides you with Christian support to reach out and help you. Anyone who is in a good position at the moment should be saying, how can I reach out and help others? Because ultimately one of the main ways that God provides is through the body of Christ. One of God’s tools is using us to get out there and meet the needs of others.”
Alex believes that one of the main concerns for our society is dependency on government. We see two extremes in Australia, those who are self-sufficient and think they don’t need God because they’ve built up their wealth. And equally those people who are dependent on the Government and think they don’t need God either. This is a real problem in Western culture, not just here in Australia.
“What if the government took those benefits away? What if the government couldn’t afford it? Who are you going to turn to then? We need to realize that we are in a fallen world and that the Government may not be able to meet all our needs. Ultimately, we need to turn to the One who controls all of this and who can all provide for us, whether the government does or not.”
There are so many fantastic stories in the Bible that really capture the heart of God. In Philippians 4:19, we see God will supply all our needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. God can supply all our needs. Not only that, He wants to supply all our needs.
“If you perceive that you are a precious child of God and that He’s not going to abandon you, then you rest in the comfort of knowing that He will provide for you in whatever way He chooses. If we understand who God is, we understand His ability to provide in all sorts of supernatural ways, and we don’t allow the devil to distort our view of God.”
Listen below to hear the rest of Alex’s chat with Neil about God’s provision for our lives.
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