Bread or Stone
If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him! Matthew 7:9-11
We were in a crisis. My husband’s income had plummeted from his stable over twenty-year career and my home business was not enough to cover the needs of our family. I prayed for God to provide and things were getting worse. I felt embarrassed; it seemed God was not answering our financial need.
Fear took over when my prayers and efforts seemed useless. I resolved myself to pray one more time. Bible in hand, I shut the door, locked it, and knelt down by my bed. I opened up a familiar passage to pray back to the Father. Nestled in the midst of the next passage were the words God used to reveal to me what was in my heart.
Or what man is among you who, when his son asks for a loaf, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!
God revealed to me I was thinking evil of Him. I was asking for bread and (I thought) He was giving me a stone—something He said we wouldn’t even do as earthly parents. I immediately confessed my sin and began to examine my thoughts about God’s character and His love, careful to align them with scripture. I reminded myself whatever turn our finances would take, regardless of the circumstances, He loves us more than we can fathom. He gave me the good gift of showing me truth in scripture. God cares what we think about His character.
Sometimes it takes a crisis to reveal what we are really thinking. The next time you are in a crisis, pray and ask God to examine your thoughts towards Him. Is your faith contingent on answered prayer and circumstances, or on the truth of His word?
Karen Aker is a Bible teacher, speaker, and freelance writer. She has a passion for communicating truth in scripture. She is married and a mother of four young adult children, a grandmother of two, and resides in beautiful Richmond, VA.
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