Métodos de alimentación

hood and calling as representatives of God the Father—the One who estab- lished work as part of His creation and is still “working” (John 5:17) as an ex- ample for us to follow, continually providing for our daily needs.

We could significantly reduce the poverty level in our country if every father who had checked out on his wife and kids would go home and start tak- ing his role as provider seriously. “I will work diligently to provide for the needs of my family” is a desperately needed resolution that every man called “father” should boldly make. The word father means “source,” among other things. Jesus said that when we need something, we should pray and ask our “Father who is in heaven” to provide it for us (Matthew 7:11).

Psalm 23, the most famous chapter of comfort from the Bible, is also a vivid picture of a loving shepherd providing for the flocks under his care: “The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want” (verse 1). Starting from that opening statement, this psalm describes how God not only provides us with food, water, and rest but also meets our emotional and spiritual needs as well. “He restores my soul” (verse 3). Bottom line, if we have a legitimate need, then God our Father is on it. Even when the path seems dark and difficult, He is there, watch- ing over us, comforting us, and taking care of us.

And for men—“shepherds” over our families—few things make us feel stronger and more masculine than knowing our wife and kids could say the same of us. “My dad is my shepherd, and I don’t lack anything I need.”

While many wives sacrificially help their families financially (Proverbs 31:16–24), husbands should always see themselves as the primary providers as shepherds over their homes. No, we can’t give our families everything they want or everything we wish we could. But by God’s grace, operating through our hard work, they don’t have to worry if their needs will be met.

“My husband is a great provider.” Love hearing that.

Some men, struggling to find good-paying work, may feel like failures for not being able to temporarily fulfill their desire to provide financially. In tight economies, in down seasons, God often allows families to go through lean times, testing their faith and discovering where their trust and priorities really are.

These are the dark moments when courageous husbands and fathers must battle through their insecurities, fears, and feelings of desperation to contin- ue offering the provisional leadership their families need, even as they scrimp and save. God knows what is in a man’s heart, and He will not fail to provide opportunities for us to physically care for our families as we seek Him. His promise to His children is that “God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19).

For others, however, this resolution comes with a grave warning: “If any- one does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever” (1 Timothy 5:8). Some men are not providing for their families because they’re not willing to put in that much hard work and sacrifice. But a change of heart could ignite the mo- tivation that pulls his family back from the brink of destruction. A man of lazy habits, transformed by God into a man of labor and faithfulness, can change the course of his family for generations.

That’s the raw power of God’s provision.

We Work, God Provides

Work is a wonderful thing. Even though part of the consequence of sin is that work now involves “painful toil,” “thorns and thistles,” and “the sweat of your brow” (Genesis 3:17–19 NIV), the diligent worker is honored throughout Scripture, and the lazy man is not.

Poor is he who works with a negligent hand, but the hand of the diligent makes rich. (Proverbs 10:4)

He who steals must steal no longer; but rather he must labor, perform- ing with his own hands what is good, so that he will have something to

For you yourselves know how you ought to follow our example. We were not idle when we were with you, nor did we eat anyone’s food without paying for it. On the contrary, we worked night and day, laboring and toiling so that we would not be a burden to any of you. . . . For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: “If a man will not work,

he shall not eat.” (2 Thessalonians 3:7–8, 10 NIV)

In cultures that offer welfare or subsidized income to the unemployed, a man without a job may be forced to temporarily accept this as a way to fulfill his obligations to his family. But when work becomes available to him, an honorable man will choose to earn his food and provide for his own house- hold. This trait separates the diligent man from the lazy man. Laziness, theft, and gambling are all sinful and dishonorable ways to try to get things you want without really earning them. These are never God’s plan.

Even if it means doing menial work for a while until a better job opens up, any work to a diligent man is preferable to him than sitting around, dodging opportunities, and waiting for his ship to come in.

Men work. Men provide. And when those men are children of God who call on Him as their Father, they can be sure that God will always meet their needs. They will eventually be able to say as King David did, “I have been young and now I am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his des- cendants begging bread” (Psalm 37:25). God Himself will honor the work we do because He is a “rewarder of those who seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6).

When we get prayerfully busy trying to provide for our families, we find ourselves cooperating with the One who created it all, owns it all, and can make more of it whenever He wants. By laying our best before Him, we can be absolutely sure that He will “give us each day our daily bread” (Luke 11:3). He is Jehovah-jireh—the God who provides.

After thousands of years of faithfulness, He will not ruin His reputation on us.

One thing we need to acknowledge soberly is that God does not promise to provide for the needs of those who are not His children. He may, but He is not obligated to do so. When Jesus promised God’s faithful provision, He was talking about those who called God their Father (Matthew 6:25–34). Those who have rejected God or are worshipping false gods may starve (Deutero- nomy 28:15–48; Isaiah 8:19–22; 65:12–13). Their gods do nothing for them. This is another reason why it is vital to tell them about the living God who

owns the cattle on a thousand hills and can fill the hungry soul with what is good (Psalm 107:9).

However, Jesus taught believers to pray in confidence because “your Father knows what you need before you ask Him” (Matthew 6:8). Christian men who worry at night about their job or not having their needs met do so in vain.

The question for believers is never, “Will God provide?” but “How is He going to do it?”

God provides in His own way and in His own timing, but He is always faithful to His role as Provider. If you need transportation to get to work, God may provide a car to you free of charge as a gift from someone. Or He may provide the money to buy the car. Or a way to earn the money to buy the car. Or send you a bicycle. Or change your job so you can walk to work or even work from home.

But you can rest assured that He is on it and in the end will deliver what you need so you can get food on the table. And in the meantime, you need to walk by faith and stay busy asking, seeking, and knocking until He reveals what He has provided. But He will; you can rest on it.

The Bible is filled with amazing stories of how God provided His chil- dren exactly what they needed, exactly when they needed it. Sometimes He waited until the very last second, but He timed things perfectly to maximize His glory and maintain His reputation.

And that’s what we can expect from Him, too, as we’re obedient to pur- sue our calling as men who work hard to provide for our families and resist any temptation toward laziness.