Pro = to take place before hand
Vision = to see

Provision = To see something before hand.

There was a man by the name of Gary Oliver, and he wrote a little devotional book, this story comes from within…

Gary was in the ninth grade and was out body surfing with some of his friends, they had gone one day to a State Beach which is by Ocean Side, California.  He was out there body surfing with his friends.  Most of his friends were considerably older than he was, and the waves were good that day, but Gary, for some reason, grew discontent with the level of thrill of the body surfing that he was getting from the wave he was on.  He thought he would go a little bit deeper to see if he could catch some of the bigger waves than were out there.

The waves were breaking that day in a little bit different pattern, in a way that is known to cause rip-tides.  Rip-tides are responsible for at least 100 drownings or deaths each year.  Under certain conditions, as these waves break, perhaps they’ll break a little bit early because of sand bars that are way out from the shore and if there is a path in between the two sand bars, there is a deeper path a lot of times as the water is breaking over those sand bars.  The water finding a channel back out to the ocean is going in that deeper area between the sand bars.

So, there was this rip-tide that was occurring in the area but Gary was not aware of this, he did not understand this concept, nor could he see because he was so close in this situation.  He saw this great wave coming towards him and thought, “This is the one, this is the great one that will take me all the way back to shore, I’m going to ride this one!”  He dove right in front of this wave, but rather than being pushed up towards the shore as he expected, he found himself being pulled down and back out to sea.  He didn’t know what was happening – this had never happened to him before.  He was full of fear and confusion, and he felt his feet hit the bottom of the ocean.  As hard as he could, he pushed up with both of his feet, but he couldn’t break the surface, … and so, this ninth grader prayed to the Lord asking for God’s help.  Apparently, the Lord heard his cry because before he knew what was happening, he was back up to the surface again.  But he wasn’t yet saved, because still being in that rip tide, he was still being taken out to the ocean – and he’s out of breath and exhausted.  And he’s being pulled further and further away from shore.  As additional waves are coming in he’s afraid that he will get pushed under again.  So though he was able to get above the water to take a breath, he wasn’t “out of the water” so to speak, just yet.  He was afraid that this was going to happen to him again when he heard a voice calling to him and turned to see a lifeguard.  That lifeguard threw a lifeline out to him, pulled him in and took him safely to the shore.  Of course, Gary was a little embarrassed about having to be rescued, but he also was very grateful.  The life guard told him this: he had seen the conditions that were brewing in order to cause the rip tides, earlier.  “Before you even went under water, when you were still swimming out to that area, I was already in the water swimming towards you to rescue you… because I saw what was coming.” That lifeguard would not have had enough time if he would have waited to see if Gary was going to be able to handle the situation on his own or not.  But he began swimming towards him when he saw the conditions – such is the provision and planning of Jehovah!

We can’t see the future, but the Lord Jesus can, and (as we learned last time) He is providing and planning it for our benefit.  Many are the needs of the Lord‘s people.  Whether it be spiritual or physical ~ we all need something. Whether it be a job, a home, a meal, a family, a church, a mentor, a friend, a purpose, or simply hope…rest assured, He is already in the water!

“But my God shall supply all your need
according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”
- Philippians 4:19