Provision

“v. 5 Whoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it as an offering to the Lord: gold, silver, and bronze; blue, purple, and scarlet thread...v. 10 all who are gifted artisans among you shall come and make all that the Lord has commanded…v. 21 Then everyone came whose heart was stirred and everyone whose spirit was willing and they brought the Lord’s offering for the work of the tabernacle of meeting, for all its service, and for the holy garments.” Exodus 35:5, 10, 21

Father, we thank you that you provide skilled artisans with willing hearts to bring their gifts and talents as a beautiful offering to You in the ministry of Deeper Still.  Father, thank you for their hearts being stirred so that these gifts can be used in Your service.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.

I was overwhelmed when I read over the prayer of provision list for Deeper Still.  On this list were the verses above plus some others from Exodus 35 and 36.  The reason my heart was in awe was because of a skype conversation the day before.    In this conversation, Judy Townsend had shared about how God was providing for every need for the Deeper Still Illinois Retreat and in some pretty crazy ways!

 

She explained how when they needed a “Mother Mantle” ( which is a very heavy and ornate cape-like garment), to place over the ladies who attend the retreat as a symbol of restoring their “Mother Mantle”,  that someone who was a Renaissance costume designer showed up and willingly offered to create it for them.  Now, I am not sure how abundant Renaissance costume crafters are in Illinois, but I don’t know very many in Tennessee (actually, I don’t know of any!)!

Then, Judy went on to share how God provided pottery jars to give to the ladies as a reminder of God’s love and care and how He keeps our tears in a bottle (Ps 58:6) and is close to the brokenhearted.  Apparently, a person who has a degree in Pottery (who knew one could get a degree in Pottery, right?) offered his talents to make these tear jars.

And then she shared how a team member had taken some old wood from an abandoned barn and how God used several people to transform these broken and damaged pieced of wood into beautiful works of art to display at the retreat.  Below is a picture of one of these barn boards.

Isn’t it amazing how God transformed what the world would consider rubbish or garbage and turned it into a beautiful work of art?  It is such a visual representation of what God does in all of our lives.  He gives us beauty for ashes, He restores the broken and makes all things new.  Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom indeed! 

God is just too much!!  He continues to overwhelm me with His goodness and provision .  I hope these examples today encourage you in how He is interested in the smallest and intricate details not only for Deeper Still, but also in your life.

Thank you for your continued prayers!  He hears and He answers.