A Faithful Girl Believes God Will Provide

Claire Black: This is True Girl, a podcast for girls and their moms. Together, we’ll explore God’s truth for us, one hike at a time. 

We hope you’re growing closer to each other and closer to Jesus!

And if you’ve ever been camping, you know that you always end up needing something you didn’t pack. It’s what the best family memories are made of. That time mom forgot the cooler! Oh, yeah! Or dad forgot those tent pegs. Nothing like sleeping under the stars.

Well, our needs are actually great opportunities to practice faithfulness. In this season of the True Girl podcast, “Becoming a Girl of Faithfulness,” we’ve been studying the life of Mary, the mother of Jesus.

This episode is called “A Faithful Girl Believes God Will Provide.” 

Well, Dannah Gresh and Staci Rudolph are still hiking. Let’s join them!

Staci Rudolph:  Oh no, look at all this rain! It’s really comin’ down! Glad we’ve got a tent, but poor Cassie is soakin’ wet!

Dannah Gresh: I thought we were going to be able to steer clear of the rain this week, but it seems to have caught up with us.

Staci: It sure has. Let me take a peek out there.

[unzipping tent flap]

Oh no, look at the wood. It’s all soggy! We’ll never be able to light a fire to cook our breakfast! 

And I guess it doesn’t matter anyway, because Cassie is sitting on the food bag! The eggs are in there!

[Donkey bray]

Yeah, yeah, I know, you’re sorry, Cassie. I forgive you. I just don’t know what we’re gonna do.

Dannah: Staci, don’t worry. We’ll figure it out. I grabbed a few of our food basics when it started sprinkling last night. Let’s stay in the tent and make peanut butter sandwiches for breakfast. 

Staci: You have any bananas left? I love the peanut butter and banana combo.

Dannah: I sure do. Here, I think I’ll have one too. You’re right, the two make a good combo.

Staci: Mmm, now that’s a good PB & banana. But, ah man, I could use a cuppa coffee to get me through this rain!

Dannah: Yeah, I could use some coffee too, but . . . no campfire!

Staci: Yeah.

Dannah: You know, eating peanut butter sandwiches always reminds me of a mission trip I took to Zambia, Africa with twenty high school students from our high school, Grace Prep.

One day we were helping a family who lived in a very poor village to rebuild their home. The children who lived nearby gathered around as we worked. So, a lot of our time was spent playing with them. 

Well, when the noonday sun was right above our heads we decided to head back for a lunch break to our van. All we had were peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, some bananas, and bottles of water. But we were very hungry, so I was sure they would hit the spot!

Well, apparently, the high schoolers didn’t think so.

“We can’t eat these!”

“What? Why can’t you eat your sandwiches!?” I asked.

“We want to give them to the children in the village,” said one teenager. “They are starving and need it more than we do.”

I thought this was a great idea, but I had promised their parents I would take care of them, and not feeding them would be doing the opposite of taking care of them. Plus, there were only twenty students and there were dozens of children playing outside—all of them eyeing the van in hopes that we’d come back out and play.

So, I told the students, “There will never be enough food for all of them!” 

Then, they said something to me that I will never forget. You know what they said, Staci?

Staci: No, what?

Dannah: “Where is your faith? God will provide.”

Staci: Wow!

Dannah: Yes, I know right. That was a powerful statement.

After some back and forth, I decided that if they would eat half of their sandwiches so I could keep my promise to their parents, we would give the remaining halves to the children. We broke those half-sandwiches into even smaller pieces and began to hand them out after we ate our halves.

My heart couldn’t help but break because I was thinking, We’re going to run out. Even if every child took just one bite, there wouldn’t be enough. I had no idea how this was going to work out.

But that day, I saw God provide as I’d never imagined.

See, those starving children ate the sandwiches my students gave them, and before I knew it, I was looking at dozens of satisfied faces—mouths messy with peanut butter and jelly. Not only did they each get a bite . . . but every single one of the children ate until their stomachs were full! Afterward, they handed the crust back to us. I can’t even believe this. We collected the crusts and could not believe how much was left over!

And that was the day I truly realized the powerful provision of our God. 

Staci: That’s a cool story Dannah. It kind of reminds me of that story in the Bible where Jesus fed a crowd of people with just five loaves of bread and two fish. The disciples collected leftovers and found there was more than when they started!

[Donkey bray]

No! Cassie, you can’t come in here!

Dannah: Oh dear. Here, Cassie, maybe it’ll be drier under these thick bushes.

Well, I guess we could do our morning Bible study in here.

Staci: Let’s do it!

Dannah: Now, before we hop back into Mary’s life, let’s get one thing clear. Ultimately, the most faithful One in this study isn’t Mary. Do you know who wins the faithfulness award in this story, Staci?

Staci: I’d say it’s God for sure. 

Dannah: Absolutely. Remember, we’re not able to be faithful without His help. So, let’s take a moment to remember many of the ways God has provided for Mary up until this point. Like God never left Mary stranded or abandoned, and it’s important to remember His faithfulness. 

God always provides for His plan. From the time the angel appeared to see her, we see that Mary had faith that God would provide. And you’ll see how confident she was of that as we study the next snapshot of her life.

Let’s open our Bible to John 2, we’re going to read verses 1–12. We’re going to look at a story where God’s provision was very powerful and clear.

Staci: Can I read again? 

Dannah: Of course, you can!

Staci: Okay, here’s John 2:1–12

The next day there was a wedding celebration in the village of Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, and Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the celebration. The wine supply ran out during the festivities, so Jesus’ mother told him, “They have no more wine.”

“Dear woman, that’s not our problem,” Jesus replied. “My time has not yet come.”

But his mother told the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”

Standing nearby were six stone water jars, used for Jewish ceremonial washing. Each could hold twenty to thirty gallons. Jesus told the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” When the jars had been filled, he said, “Now dip some out, and take it to the master of ceremonies.” So the servants followed his instructions.

When the master of ceremonies tasted the water that was now wine, not knowing where it had come from (though, of course, the servants knew), he called the bridegroom over. “A host always serves the best wine first,” he said. “Then, when everyone has had a lot to drink, he brings out the less expensive wine. But you have kept the best until now!”

This miraculous sign at Cana in Galilee was the first time Jesus revealed his glory. And his disciples believed in him.After the wedding he went to Capernaum for a few days with his mother, his brothers, and his disciples.

Pretty cool story.

Dannah: Yes, it is. Let’s break it down a bit more.

So, in Bible-times, weddings often lasted days!! 

Staci: Days?!

Dannah: Yep, you heard me—days. This meant the family had to prepare lots of food and drinks for the guests. In that culture, running out of food was considered irresponsible.And the wine was running out!

Now, Mary would have known that if this happened, the family might get a bad reputation. She wanted Jesus to solve the problem. She didn’t ask Him to fix it. She just told Him about it.

When I first read about this wedding, I was surprised that Mary went straight to Jesus. 

Staci: But wait, why wouldn’t she go to Jesus? I mean He’s the Son of God, ya know? I’d sure go to Him for help. 

Dannah: Well, it’s a little more complicated than that. You see, Jesus hadn’t been doing miracles out in public for people to see yet. To remind her of this, Jesus actually said, “My time has not yet come.” He meant that it wasn’t God’s will for Him to be revealed to the world yet.

Staci: Ah, I understand. But He ended up doing it—turning the water into wine—right?

Dannah: Yes, even though it was not time for Jesus’ ministry to be made public, He turned water into wine. Now, this could appear to be a problem since God still wanted His power to remain a secret. But don’t think that for too long. 

You see, only Mary and the servants knew what happened behind the scenes of this miracle. And according to verse 11, Jesus’ disciples knew where the wine came from, but the rest of this amazing miracle remained a secret. 

So, Jesus was not revealed to the public yet. God’s will did not change when Jesus turned water into wine. And let me tell you, it was not ordinary wine.

Staci: What made it different?

Dannah: Well, in those days, it was normal to bring the best wine out at the beginning of the wedding . . . not the end! But the wine Jesus miraculously created was the most delicious at the wedding. How sweet of Him to provide what the guests wanted and to make it so yummy!

Staci: That was very sweet. I think He really cared about them.

Dannah: You’re absolutely right. That is our Jesus. He cares about the little things that matter to us, so He provides. But there is another wonderful reason He provided. 

Staci: What is it?

Dannah: Because Mary asked. Mary trusted Jesus before she ever sawHim do a miracle in public because she knew who He was, and that was enough.

And you know what? That brings us to . . .

Staci: No, what?

Dannah: A faithful girl believes God will provide.Just like Mary came to Jesus and asked Him to provide, you and I can do the same thing!

Staci: Think we could ask Him for dry wood?

Dannah: Absolutely! 1 John 5:14–15 says

This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him. 

Now, this verse kinda makes God sound like a vending machine—so, we won’t get whatever we want from Him. But we need to note something super-duper-important to understanding what this verse really means! This verse says we will get whatever we ask of God . . . according to His will. His will. That is the key.

Staci: God’s will is the thing that God knows is best for us, right?

Dannah: Yep. That’s absolutely right. God has perfect plans to provide for us, and sometimes our desires fit into those plans, but sometimes they don’t. And when we pray, it is important to ask God for help understanding His will.

Now, When we first met Mary, the angel had come with the news that she would be the mother of Jesus. But remember, that was not in Mary’s plans, not at all! Let’s peek again at how she responded. I want to read from the English Standard Version of the Bible to see something important.

Here’s Luke 1:38

And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” 

See, Mary prayed in a way that said “yes” to God’s plan no matter what. “Let it be to me according to your word.” She wanted her life to be lived according to the will of God, not her own plans. You know what? That how I want to respond—more like Mary when God asks me to do something!

Staci: Me too!

Dannah: And you know, Staci, just like we talked about a minute ago, God wants to hear our prayers. Not just the big important prayers, but He also wants us to talk with Him about our desires like Mary did when she asked Him to help with the wine at the wedding. 

Anything and everything—God cares about hearing it all! I mean if God cared about the drinks at a wedding hundreds of years ago, we should definitely believe that He cares about all the little details in our life too! 

Staci: It can be so hard to trust God and believe that He’s gonna provide everything I need. I mean, how do I even start to do that? I know I’m supposed to, but how do I actually trust Him and stop worrying so much?

Dannah: Well, that’s a good question. Do you want to know a huge tip to help you begin your journey of trusting God?

Staci: Please!

Dannah: One of the greatest keys to trusting God is getting to know Him. After all, you don’t normally trust someone you know nothing about, right?!

Staci: True.

Dannah: Studying God’s Word is one of the best ways to get to know Him. God has revealed so much to us in His Word, His will, His character, His ways. And that’s actually why I wanted to study Mary’s story on our camping adventure. 

When we study the Bible, we see God’s faithfulness and all the other amazing qualities He possesses. I mean, we see how powerful He is as the God of the universe.

Staci: Ahh, that makes a lot of sense!

 [Tractor in distance]

Dannah: Hey, what’s that?

Staci: Let me look.

Dannah, I do believe that is Farmer Bob driving his tractor toward us, and he’s got his red umbrella.

Dannah: Aww, He’s worried about us being out in the rain, I guess.

Staci: So sweet!

I think he’s got something. Well, will ya look at that! I think it is a thermos. Dannah, do you think it could be what I think it is?

Dannah: A girl can hope!

Bob Gresh: Hey, you want some coffee?

Dannah and Staci: Yes!

Dannah: Thanks, Baby! Yep, God puts provisions in place when we’re not even thinking about it! We’re not always able to see them as quickly as we did this time, but we can be sure He’s got us covered.

Staci: I’d ask God to replace the eggs, but I don’t want Cassie to feel bad. 

Claire: Jesus turned water into wine. And, it looks like He prompted Farmer Bob to deliver hot coffee to Dannah and Staci on a rainy day!

Of course, not all of the things we need are given to us. Sometimes God teaches us to love Him more than things by asking us to wait patiently, faithfully. But a faithful girl believes God will provide her true needs.

Hey, haven’t you loved learning about Mary? Well, this is just a little taste of what you’ll experience if you join us for our upcoming online Bible study! You can find out more about it at MyTrueGirl.com.

While you’re there, you’ll also see that we have some on-demand studies waiting and ready for you to enjoy. Hope you’ll join us for one of those!

What happens when you feel like your needs aren’t met? What happens when life is just super hard? Well, there’s a faithfulness lesson in the life of Mary just for that.

If you’re curious to know what it is, join us next week for our final episode of season ten, “Becoming a Girl of Faithfulness.” 

The True Girl podcast is produced by Revive Our Hearts calling women of all ages to freedom, fullness, and fruitfulness in Christ!

All Scripture is taken from the NLT unless otherwise noted.

*Offers available only during the broadcast of the podcast season.