Nehemiah 9:21-25: a reflection

21“Yes, forty years you sustained them in the wilderness. They lacked nothing. Their clothes didn’t grow old, and their feet didn’t swell. 22Moreover you gave them kingdoms and peoples, which you allotted according to their portions. So they possessed the land of Sihon, even the land of the king of Heshbon, and the land of Og king of Bashan. 23You also multiplied their children as the stars of the sky, and brought them into the land concerning which you said to their fathers that they should go in to possess it. 24“So the children went in and possessed the land; and you subdued before them the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, and gave them into their hands, with their kings and the peoples of the land, that they might do with them as they pleased. 25They took fortified cities and a rich land, and possessed houses full of all good things, cisterns dug out, vineyards, olive groves, and fruit trees in abundance. So they ate, were filled, became fat, and delighted themselves in your great goodness.

In this great prayer recalling God's dealings with Israel, the people remember his provision in the wilderness: For forty years you sustained them in the wilderness, and they lacked nothing; their clothes did not wear out, and their feet did not swell. In a barren desert, for forty long years, God provided so completely for his people that they lacked nothing, down to their very clothing, which did not wear out over all that time.

Notice the completeness of God's provision: they lacked nothing. For forty years in a wilderness that could not support them, God met their every need, so fully that even their clothes and their feet were preserved. This was not bare survival, but complete provision, God supplying everything they needed for four decades in a place that offered nothing. He sustained them entirely, in ways large and small, so that nothing was lacking.

That is the God who provides for his people still. We often notice God's provision only in the dramatic, and overlook the countless ways he sustains us daily, the needs met, the small provisions, the ways we are kept that we take for granted, like clothes that do not wear out. But God provides completely for his people, in a thousand unnoticed ways, sustaining us through our own wildernesses. Look for the completeness of God's provision in your life, not only the obvious blessings, but the countless small ways he sustains you, meets your needs, keeps you day by day. Recognize and give thanks for the God who, in the wilderness, sustained his people so that they lacked nothing; the same God sustains you, completely, often in ways you have never noticed. Trust his complete provision, and give thanks for it.

Lord, in this prayer your people recalled that for forty years you sustained them in the wilderness, so that they lacked nothing, their clothes not wearing out, their feet not swelling; you provided completely for them in a place that offered nothing. Thank you that you are the God who provides for his people still. I often notice your provision only in the dramatic, and overlook the countless ways you sustain me daily, the needs met, the small provisions, the ways I am kept that I take for granted. But you provide completely for your people, in a thousand unnoticed ways, sustaining us through our own wildernesses. Help me look for the completeness of your provision in my life, not only the obvious blessings, but the countless small ways you sustain me, meet my needs, keep me day by day. Help me recognize and give thanks for the God who sustained his people so that they lacked nothing. The same God sustains me, completely, often in ways I have never noticed; help me trust your complete provision, and give you thanks.