God Will Provide

One of the many reasons that I went on the World Race was to learn how to live with less. In the US, I knew I had so much more than I needed, and in a lot of ways was living selfishly, so I hoped that the Race would be a big step towards living with only what I need. 

An area that I struggle giving up control over is food. I LOVE everything that has anything to do with food, and personally, I love to eat healthy and make meals with tons of fresh fruits and veggies. I guess that something I didn’t quite realize when I left is that in other countries, I might not have access to those things. I only expected to give up certain things– like my bed, many of my clothes, and constant access to wi-fi. But eating on the World Race budget has been difficult for me.

This month, our ministry host is cooking our food for us– which means even less control over the food I eat. So far this month, I’ve hardly ever had a whole piece of fresh fruit, and for me that’s a struggle.

But having these experiences has been teaching me to rely on the Lord more and more.

I had been worrying all the time that I would get hungry before we were fed our next meal, or that I would get sick because I wasn’t getting enough nutrients and vitamins.

I had been praying about it, and over the weekend, God totally showed me just how well He provides for me.

First of all, I realized that I have never been very hungry between meals since being here in Argentina.

Then, I had an amazing day on Saturday. The day started with a plateful of scrambled eggs, which I hadn’t eaten since leaving Chile (usually breakfast is some rice cakes with jam). I seriously almost cried.

Then for ministry, we went to a local church and did some evangelism, then returned to the church for a huge lunch. They made us chicken, pasta, baked potatoes (and even some sweet potatoes) and squash, and salad. By the end of our meal, I was stuffed!

And an assistant pastor and the ladies on the church’s missions board prayed over us. There was one named Carmen that stood up and actually prophesied over my teammates and I– it was amazing, and it was clear that the Lord was moving there.

After that, we went back to the YWAM base for the afternoon and left to go to what we thought would be a rap festival, but really we sat in a park and listened to some rock music for about an hour and a half. But even though it wasn’t what we expected, it was great to just hang out with my team.

We had left for the park around 5:30, so the camp packed dinners for us. To be honest, I was really disappointed that all I got for dinner was a small piece of plain baked chicken, one leaf of lettuce, and an orange. I thought for sure I was going to be hungry during the festival. So I bought a small bag of peanuts at a minimarket, and ate them at the park.

We made it back to the YWAM base around midnight. There was a wedding at the base, and they were just finishing dinner when we arrived. Unexpectedly, we were given plates of extra wedding food– potatoes with some sort of cream sauce, rice with fresh shrimp and clams, delicious baked chicken, and bratwurst.

It was AMAZING food, and there was so much of it that I couldn’t even eat it all.

I felt in that moment that God just wanted to show that He will provide for me– even when I don’t believe it, and try to take care of myself, He has something much better in store.

And then yesterday at lunch, the schedule for meals was delayed because a lot of the YWAM staff were recovering from the wedding (which was still hopping around 5 AM). I was a little frustrated that I had to sit and wait for over an hour past when lunch was supposed to be ready, and by that point I was fairly hungry. But then, I was given a salad and a huge piece of chicken breast with herbs AND more bratwurst– almost too much for me to finish. And even though I was frustrated, God had blessed me yet again.

I’m trying trust God more and not worry about the future, and be thankful for whatever He gives me, even if it’s not what I wanted, or if I think it isn’t enough. Looking back, I’ve realized just how blessed I have been this month. I have been given plenty to eat, I get to take hot showers, I get to swim in the largest pool I’ve ever seen (at the base), and I am serving the Lord in Argentina this month surrounded by people who are chasing after Him with all they have, and who inspire me to run toward Him even harder.

I know trusting God wholeheartedly to provide for me will take time to really sink into my heart, but what I learned from this month and this weekend was that that day is coming. Trust isn’t something that comes easy– it takes time and faith, and it is God that builds it in my heart. But He says that He is our good shepherd, and that He will always provide.

God, I trust you; you’ve never failed me yet.