Hi, friends!

Since taking on the opening of my church’s Early Learning Center, I haven’t taken much time to post anything, but I’m hoping to get a better handle on balancing writing and working soon. Keep an eye out for more posts than the past several weeks have brought.

Today, I want to share a verse and a promise that God has faithfully upheld for me again and again. It’s Isaiah 58:11 which reads,

“The Lord will always lead you, satisfy you in a parched land, and strengthen your bones. You will be like a watered garden and like a spring whose water never runs dry.”

A month or so ago while I was shopping for some items to make my new office more welcoming for parents, children, and staff, I saw a sign that read, “Where God guides, He provides. – Isaiah 58:11”, and I knew, desperately, that I needed that promise to be true. Standing in that Hobby Lobby aisle, I had faith that God has called me to be the director of our Center, and amidst all of the paperwork for licensing and research for setting up an early childhood education program, I knew I would need God to provide. Honestly I’d realized before I applied that my public education background would only take me so far on this new journey.

So I bought the sign, put it on the top shelf of a corner unit in my new office, and I read it every morning as I enter and multiple times throughout the day.

And, friends, I have experienced God’s provision before and heard testimony of Him providing for others, but I don’t know that I can say I had prayed very often for God to provide or that I’d ever just flat out said, “God, if we’re doing this thing, You’re going to have provide because I’ve got nuthin’ over here on my own.”

But with the promise of Isaiah 58:11 fresh in my mind and on my heart, for the past month, I have dropped to my knees every morning behind my office desk and prayed along these lines,

“God, You brought me here. I know that without a doubt. You have a vision for this place, and this Center is for Your glory. You’ve blessed me with a wealth of experiences and education, and turned even my rebellion and delays into fruitfulness, and I’m thankful and praise You for that, but I can’t open or run Your learning center on my own. I need You to provide…the staff You want here and Your discernment so I hire who You want. I need You to provide the children and families You want us to disciple, and the wisdom to set up the programming to serve them well…I need You…I need You…(and on and on). I am trusting in You, Lord, to provide because You have guided me to this place.”

And friends, oh friends, there is a difference between recognizing God’s provision after the fact and actively praying for it and then SEEING it happen in the MOMENT!

What a difference praying the promise of Isaiah 58:11 has made these past couple of weeks!

What a difference a posture of humility has made, confessing before the Lord Almighty that I am not able on my own, that I am in moment-by-moment need of Him!

What a difference flat out asking for God’s help with specific needs has made!

I know I could pray, “God bless this Center for Your glory.”, and that He would because He is good. But I also know that I would likely overlook His provision and blessing and only see it after the fact, years later, or maybe never see it at all, being too caught up myself in trying to do all the things, that in truth, He is doing anyway.

Sweet friend, are you feeling a little parched today? Maybe tired and stressed, running on fumes? I get it. I’ve been there. I’ve had a more stressful than usual week myself.

If you are ready to see the promises of Isaiah 58:11 fulfilled in your life, if you want to be satisfied when nothing seems to be growing or not growing quickly, if you need strength, if you long for your spirit to be like a well-watered garden, with a life that is blooming and fruitful, may I encourage you to stop pretending you can do it all on your own?

Give coming clean with the Lord Almighty a try. He has all that You need, and He’s abundantly able to fill your hands with good things, but, friend, you have to open your hands to receive them.

It’s acceptable to pray for blanket blessings. We see it in the Bible quite often. But if you want to see God’s provision clearly, try getting specific with your needs and then watch for what He does. He’s knocked my socks off this week alone with personal and professional provision. He’s met physical and spiritual needs in clear and tangible ways.

God wants to fulfill His Isaiah 58:11 promise in your life too. Will you get honest with Him today? Will you make Him your #1 need today?