God’s providence for sharing

By Dr Edward Tamale-Sali

We thank God for this Easter season, and we still glorify Him for His unending grace, mercy and continuous providence in our lives.

Since last Easter, the Lord has blessed many of us with blessings we have recognised, heard, seen and touched.
Still, we have experienced His wonderful deeds on our behalf, even beyond our notice.

The Lord has been God, and He continues in His steadfast love.

We now turn to another season of providence, and this month we look at another angle of the providence of God.
It is the angle of the reason the Lord provides for us.

The Text

1. Now when they drew near Jerusalem, and came to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples,
2. Saying to them: “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Loose them and bring them to Me.
3. “And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say: ‘The Lord has need of them,’ and immediately he will send them.”
4. All this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying:
5. “Tell the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your King is coming to you, Lowly, and sitting on a donkey, A colt, the foal of a donkey.’”
6. So the disciples went and did as Jesus commanded them.
7. They brought the donkey and the colt, laid their clothes on them, and set Him on them.
8. And a very great multitude spread their clothes on the road; others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road.
9. Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying: “Hosanna to the Son of David! ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!’ Hosanna in the highest!”
10. And when He had come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying: “Who is this?”
11. So, the multitudes said: “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee” (Matthew 21:1-11 NKJ).
    There was a time when James wrote and said: “You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures” (James 4:3 NKJ).
    It looks like the Apostle was telling all of us who pray for God’s providence to always mind the reasons for our prayer requests.
    If God asked each of us why we want Him to provide for us, what would be our answers?
    Why do you need God to provide a car for you? What are you going to use it for and how is it going to help the people of God around you?
    How are your prayer requests for God to provide going to advance the kingdom of God in this sin-stricken world and change the lives of others?
    That is the question we see being addressed in Mathew 21:1-11.
    Donkey and a Colt
    In verse 2 God knew there was a family that had earlier asked for God to provide them with a Donkey and a Colt and God being God answered their prayer request and they owned a donkey and a colt.
    The text does not indicate anywhere God asked to borrow the Donkey and the Colt.
    I guess that God knew that the owners of this livestock owned it to serve the purpose of God and not to serve their selfish intentions and pleasures.
    It is perhaps for this reason that the owners did not pursue God to take away their livestock.
    God provided for this family so that this family would provide for the work of God at any given opportunity.
    The question for you and myself is: do we look at the providence of God in our lives as an opportunity to provide for the mission and purpose of God or do we look at all that God has given us as things to own and use exclusively for our pleasures?

Providence of worship
From verses 8-11, we see people to whom God has provided for nature, cutting down all that nature and using it to worship its creator, we see people to whom God has provided clothes using their materials to worship the King.

The people in Jerusalem understood that there is a God in Heaven who has provided them with health and they used their lips, their healthy hands and their entire being to worship the King saying Hosanna!, Hosanna! to the King who rides on the Donkey through our streets.

The question to all of us to whom God has provided for is; what are you using God’s providence for?

The Lord has provided a perfect nature and environment, to some he has provided for with money, others it is talents, to others it is clothes and many it is power and offices.

Many have knowledge and education, whatever the ability is, it is heaven that has provided. The question is: What are you using God’s providence for?

The writer is the director of Women’s Hospital International and Fertility Centre, Bukoto, Kampala.