Daily Word: True Provision

Today, we look at the provisions for the "sent ones." Mark 6:8: "and Yeshua instructed them that they should take nothing for their journey, except a mere staff—no bread, no bag, no money in their belt...." Yeshua tells them to begin their mission with no visible means of support. This is the opposite of most evangelical ministries today. Churches budget how much they can send for missions. If they are considering expanding, they want to make sure that they have the money before they move. You may have heard the expression, "Where God guides He provides." Here, Yeshua says, "I am sending you, and you don't need any provision for your basic necessities of life."

Remember that to the Hebrew, faith was action and not the adoption of a creed. If the twelve have faith in the words of Yeshua, they will do what he says. He tells them to go without provision and they go. This is faith in action. Yeshua told them to take a staff. The staff was like a policeman's club. It was often made of oak wood and had a knob on the end of it. Into this knob nails were sometimes driven so as to make a better weapon. It was very useful for protection, and no shepherd would be without it. There were packs of roaming wild animals that the staff could be used to drive them away. It is interest to note that Yeshua wanted them to have faith that their physical needs would be provided for, but when it came to their personal safety, they were to be prepared with their staff.

Has Yeshua sent you somewhere, but you have not acted on His words because you didn't see the provision. Do you need to see the money before you act. That is not faith; that is fear. Fear says, "I won't move until I see the money." Faith says, "If you send me Yeshua, I will go and bring my protection with me." Who are you listening to?