Providence.
Listen, put trust in God,
don't let your hands and feet tremble with fear:
your daily bread is more in love with you, than
you with it.
Rumi, Mathnawi V, 2851, quoted in: Helminski, Kabir (2000). The Rumi Collection. P.152.
The Way of Moses is all hopelessness and need and it is the only way to
God.
From when you were an infant, when has hopelessness ever failed you?
Rumi, quoted in: Helminski, Kabir (2000). The Rumi Collection. P.94.
Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labour in vain. Unless the Lord keeps watch over the city, the watchman stands guard in vain. In vain you rise early and go late to rest, toiling for the bread you eat; he supplies the need of those he loves. Sons are a gift from the Lord and children a reward from him. Psalm 127:1-3
And seek the welfare of the city to which I have exiled you and pray to God on its behalf, for in its prosperity you shall prosper. Jeremiah 29:7
Look at the birds: they don't sow seeds, gather a harvest and put it in barns; yet your Father in heaven takes care of them! Aren't you worth much more than birds? (...) Look how the wild flowers grow: they do not work or make clothes for themselves. But I tell you that not even King Solomon with all his wealth had clothes as beautiful as one of these flowers. (...) So do not start worrying: Where will my food come from? or my drink? or my clothes? (...) Your Father in heaven knows that you need all these things. Instead, be concerned above everything else with the Kingdom of God and with what He requires of you, and He will provide you with all these other things. Matthew 6:26, 28-29, 31-33
John (the Baptist) answered, "No one can have anything unless God gives it to him. (...)" John 3:27
Those who believe and work righteousness, their Lord guides them, as a reward for their faith. Rivers will flow beneath them in the garden of bliss. Quran 10:9
And just as He will see to our spiritual defense, so he will prompt others to provide us with food and clothes and life's necessities when He sees that we will not leave the work of love to see about such things for ourselves. (…) For God will never disappoint those who truly abandon worldly concerns to dedicate themselves to Him. (…) Either they will receive an abundance of all they need or he will give them the physical stamina and a patient heart to endure want. (…) Anyone doubting this only reveals that the evil one has robbed his heart of faith or that he is not yet as wholly committed to God as he should be (…). The Cloud of Unknowing, P.79.
(…) those who are perfectly humble will lack nothing they really need, either spiritually or materially. God is theirs and He is all. Whoever possesses God (…) needs nothing else in this life. The Cloud of Unknowing, P.79.
Suddenly I heard these words in my soul: My daughter, I assure you of a permanent income on which you will live. Your duty will be to trust completely in My goodness, and My duty will be to give you all you need. I am making myself dependent upon your trust: if your trust is great, then My generosity will be without limit. Faustina Kowalska, The Diary, 548.
(...) Nothing can help us so much to get a real grasp on the fact of God's allness in our accomplishments - and the peace and freedom that come from such a practical realization - as actually stopping regularly and letting God take care of things. He really can! (...) Basil Pennington, Finding Grace at the Centre, P.16.
This inner awareness, this experience of love as an immediate and dynamic
presence, tends to alter our perspective. We see the prayer of petition a
little differently. Celebration and praise, loving attention to the
presence of God, become more important than "asking for" things and
"getting" things. This is because we realize that in him and
with him all good is present to us and to mankind: if we seek first the Kingdom
of Heaven, all the rest comes along with it. Hence we worry a great deal
less
about the details of our daily needs, and we trust God to take care of our
problems if we do not ask him insistently at very minute to do so. The
same applies to the problems of the world. (...) Merton, Thomas. Contemplation in a World of Action. P.
158, 159. Submitted to L-Center Discussion Group by Gary Horn
ghorn@uswest.com
(…) I am calling you, dear children, to convert fully to God. God can give you everything that you seek from Him. But you seek God only when sickness, problems, and difficulties come to you and you think that God is far from you and is not listening and does not hear your prayers. No, dear children, that is not the truth! When you are far from God, you cannot receive graces because you do not seek them with a firm faith. (…) Therefore, dear children, put your life in God's hands. (…). Our Lady of Medjugorie, January 25, 1988. Words from Heaven, P.248.
I invite you to pray and give your life completely to God. I will give you strength and I will help you in all of your needs. You can ask for everything that you need to help you. I will intercede for you in front of God. Our Lady of Medjugorie, November 23, 1988. Words from Heaven, P.326-7.
(…) when someone comes to you and asks you a favor, answer by giving. (…) Our Lady of Medjugorie, 1983. Words from Heaven, P.360.
In Holy Scripture you have heard it said, 'Do not worry about tomorrow, each day will have its own worries.' (…) Be content with prayer. I, your mother, will take care of the rest. Our Lady of Medjugorie, February 29, 1984. Words from Heaven, P.369.
Out of the abundance God has given me I have kept nothing for myself. I am always free, for nothing belongs to me. (...) (And yet) I have to take care what I mentally tell the Lord, for it is sure to materialize! This state of satisfaction no wordly prosperity can give. Paramahansa Yogananda, Man's Eternal Quest, P.111-112.
Even if everyone were to pray day and night to become as rich as Henry Ford, their prayers could not be granted because earth is not a place where everybody can be a Henry Ford. But everyone can be rich in Spirit, for God has given everyone equal power to become like Him. When you claim your divinity, everything belongs to you. A Henry Ford might lose his wealth or his health, but Jesus Christ can create health or wealth or anything else he wants, at will. So don't long to be as rich or as healthy as someone else; have only one desire: to be like God. Paramahansa Yogananda, Man's Eternal Quest, P.186.
Losing faith in oneself means losing faith in God. Do you believe in that infinite, good Providence working in and through you? If you believe that this Omnipresent One is present in every atom, is in everything, through and through, penetrating your body, mind, and soul, how can you lose heart? Vivekananda, quoted in: Nikhilananda, Vivekananda, A Biography, P.190.
It is natural for a father to put his resources at the disposal of his son. If you think of Him and His gifts as something extraordinary, you can never be intimate with Him, you cannot draw near to Him. Do not think of Him as if He were away from you. Think of Him as your nearest! Then He will reveal Himself to you (...). Ramakrishna, quoted in: Rolland, Romain. (1994). The Life of Ramakrishna. P.160.
Abu'l Hasan Pusanji was asked, "What is faith and what is trust in God?" He replied: "You eat what is in front of you and chew each mouthful with a tranquil heart, knowing that whatever belongs to you you will not lose." Submitted to Merton-L Discussion Group by Melanie Mattson.
Trust in God is the best livelihood.
Everyone needs to trust in God
and ask, "O God, bring this work of mine to success."
Prayer involves trust in God, and trust in God
is the only means of livelihood that is independent of all others.
In these two worlds I don't know of any means of livelihood
better than trust in our Sustainer.
I know nothing better than gratitude
which brings in its wake the daily bread and its increase.
Rumi, Mathnawi V, 2425-2426, quoted in: Helminski, Kabir (2000). The Rumi Collection. P.59.
I know truly the rule for God's Provision, and it is not in my character to run from pillar to post in vain or to suffer needlessly. Truly whatever my daily portion is - of money, food, clothing, or of the fire of lust - if I sit quietly, it will come to me. If I run around in search of my daily bread, the effort exhausts and demeans me. If I am patient and stay in my place, it will come to me without pain and humiliation. My daily bread is seeking me out and drawing me. When it can't draw me, it comes - just as when I can't draw it, I go to it. The upshot of these words is that you should be so engaged in the spiritual work that this world will run after you. (...) Rumi, Fihi Ma Fihi #4, quoted in: Helminski, Kabir (2000). The Rumi Collection. P.62.
Whoso makes his concerns one concern, God will spare him the concerns of the world; but whoso allows his concerns to branch out, God will not care in what valley of this world he perishes." Hadith, quoted in: Helminski, Kabir (2000). The Rumi Collection. P.62.
There is nothing that wastes the body like worry, and one who has any faith in God should be ashamed to worry about anything whatsoever. Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948). Submitted by Kelley Elkins, www.anextstep.org
It is needless to insist that we should not worry about clothes or food. The Saviour Himself forbids this in the Gospels: 'Do not worry about what to eat or drink, or about what to wear' (cf. Matt. 6:25). Such anxiety is a mark of the Gentiles and unbelievers, who reject the providence of the Lord and deny the Creator. An attitude of this kind is entirely wrong for Christians (...). for just as a runner is obstructed and weighed down by clothing, so too is the intellect by anxious thoughts - if indeed the saying is true that the intellect is attached to its own treasure; for it is said, 'where your treasure is, there will your heart be also' (Matt. 6:21). St. Evagrios the Solitary (345-399 C.E.), quoted in: The Philokalia, Vol. I., P.41-2.
Everything good is given by the Lord providentially; and he who has faith that this is so will not lose what he has been given. St. Mark the Ascetic (4th Century C.E.), quoted in: The Philokalia, Vol. I., P.110.
All good things come from God providentially, and those who bring them are servants of what is good. St. Mark the Ascetic (4th Century C.E.), quoted in: The Philokalia, Vol. I., P.121.
The sublime providence of the Creator preserves everything that is. St. Thalassios the Libyan (VI-VII Century C.E.), quoted in: (1981). The Philokalia. Vol. II., P.310.
All will come as you go on. Take the first step first. All blessings come from within. Turn within. “I am” you know. Be with it all the time you can spare, until you revert to it spontaneously. There is no simpler and easier way. Sri Maharaj Nisargadatta. (2005). I am That. P.13.
Last updated: 20013/05/20
See the related subjects: Faith, Materialism, Offerings