Entrepreneurs among you will be familiar with the dissonance between the vision you carry and the current reality. Moving towards that vision requires resource, time, people, energy, wisdom. Where is it all going to come from? This might be an encouragement.

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There are ever new opportunities to discover God as ‘provider’ through challenging circumstances, starting something new, pioneering new ground, stepping into the unknown, any manner of circumstances that life throws at us creates a fresh opportunity to remind ourselves of the faithfulness and provision of God.

That was certainly the experience of God’s people in the wilderness after they had been set free from slavery in Egypt. When enslaved to the Egyptians, they had homes, they had ‘all the food they wanted' (Exodus 16.2-3ff). In the wilderness however, those comforts had been taken away. They were homeless and without food. Both options were challenging.

The account reminds me of that game people play called, ‘What would you rather?’. You know which one I mean? That game of alternatives where two options are presented, both of which have their challenges. For example, would you rather an icy cold bath every day for a month, or would you rather no bath for a month? Or would you rather be able to only skip everywhere, or only jump everywhere? For God’s people in the wilderness, they went from a place of slavery but visibility on where their next meal was coming from, to freedom but no visibility on where their next meal was coming from. Which would you rather? 

I’d prefer the freedom each time, but often the lack of visibility can be challenging and it caused the Israelites to grumble. Even so, God provided for them in the wilderness and you can read about this miraculous provision as they journeyed though the desert for 40 years. God provided for them each day (e.g. Exodus 16.12-16). The challenge for them though was that they couldn’t see the food or the water in their pantry or in their cupboards as they did in Egypt. They were daily dependent on the Lord for his provision.

Brilliant, but uncomfortable.

There’s something much larger going on too. Just as God provided food and supplies for them in the wilderness, God had already provided in other ways. Think about Abraham who found himself in the devastating situation where he was about to sacrifice his son Isaac (Genesis 22.1-8). It is an account of trust and God’s provision. It was in this moment that God provided a ram for Abraham to sacrifice instead of his son (Genesis 22.13). The bible records how Abraham names that location, ’The Lord will provide' (Genesis 22.14). 

The same place where that event took place (on Mount Moriah), is where Solomon built the temple in Jerusalem (2 Chronicles 3.1). The place where the priest would subsequently sacrifice animals to atone for the sins of the people. Only a few hundred yards away, Jesus was sacrificed for our sins on the cross. The Lord will provide. 'He who did not spare his son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him, give us all things (Romans 8.32). He’s done the larger thing, sending Jesus to die for us. How much more will he do the smaller thing of providing for our daily needs.

If you don’t have visibility today on where the things you need are going to come from, you have an opportunity to trust in God’s provision. He always did provide for you before and is right now providing for you (e.g. the clothes you’re wearing, the food you’ve eaten, the device on which you’re reading this), but today God is reminding you that he will provide, even as the Lord taught his disciples to pray ‘Give us today our daily bread’. Ask him for what you need as you step out in faith into new territory with that business, that social enterprise or idea. Seek him in prayer. Knock on the door of heaven, and God loves to answer your prayer of trust and dependence.