Word for Word 11/26/25

The Lord Provides 

Paul writes in Philippians 2, “And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” How true this is! Not only has our good God granted us salvation in Christ Jesus through the forgiveness of sins that He won for us on the cross, but He also cares and supplies all our daily needs as well.  

We are surrounded by God’s gracious care - through the people, tools, and opportunities that He gives to take care of us. While it’s easy for us to forget, we know that God is always at work taking care of us. I was reminded of this when we welcomed a healthy baby girl this past July.

Long story short, when my wife went into labor - it went fast! I loaded her in the car, and we raced (within reason) to Veterans Memorial Hospital. I found the closest parking spot and rushed to the other side to open the door and help my wife out of the car. Before I knew it, a kind lady from the hospital came out with a wheelchair to rush my wife inside. I wondered later how she knew that we needed help so quick. Someone joked, “She probably saw the look on your face!” When we got inside, we were quickly surrounded by wonderful nurses and Waukon’s best, Dr. Schwartz. We arrived at the hospital at 2:05 p.m. and by 2:16 p.m. we had a baby! My wife’s prayer for a short delivery was answered!

In this short account, think of all the ways that God blessed us big and small. A car that started and didn’t break down, well-paved roads, a front-row parking space, a hospital only five minutes away, an attentive lady who rushed to get us inside with a wheelchair at a moment’s notice, wonderful nurses and doctors in the right place with the right abilities to care for us, and a healthy baby girl to name just a few!

You and I are surrounded by God’s goodness and care. We have resources readily available which were unknown to most of world history. Yet do we remember to thank God for them and to give Him the glory that the Lord is due? While we might have more amenities than was known in the past, I have yet to hear someone describe our generation as the most thankful.

It’s interesting that one of the reasons Paul gives for why people fall away from God is when they do not glorify the Lord as God and are unthankful (Romans 1:21). He says, “Professing to be wise, they became fools.” Instead of honoring and thanking God for His blessings, they attributed the things they had and the wonders that they witnessed to anything or anyone other than God. What about us? Do we think that our good health is only a result of our doing? Do we think that our wealth and success is a result of our own intellect and work ethic? Do we think that our human body is the result of millions of years of evolution? Are the people in our lives simply put there by chance?

Or do we believe in God the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, who still preserves it? Do we believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son our Lord, who has redeemed the world through His holy suffering and death on the cross and opened wide the gate of heaven by His resurrection from the dead? Do we believe in the Holy Spirit who creates faith in us through the word of God so that we might believe and be saved? Do we give thanks that this world and our lives are not left up to chance?

We have many things for which to thank God! He is the Lord who cares about our needs great and small. The Triune God: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, is the one who has created us, redeemed us, and made us children of God through faith in Jesus. He planned our salvation before the foundation of the world. Yet, He even cares about ensuring that there was someone with a wheelchair at the right time to bring us safely and quickly into the hospital.

You and I have a great God. He is truly good! Not only has He gone to great lengths to win our salvation and ensure that we could be with Him forever in heaven through faith in Jesus, but He supplies our daily needs as well. May we remember and thank God for His mercies, which are new every morning this Thanksgiving and throughout the year. “Oh, give thanks unto the Lord for He is good!” Amen. 

Pastor Abraham Faugstad
King of Grace Lutheran Church ELS, Waukon and Trinity Lutheran Church