God doesn’t just care about our spiritual needs. He cares about the mortgage, the groceries, the car payment, the children—and what is going to be on the table tonight. God always takes care of His own.

In Luke 5:1–7, Jesus borrowed Peter’s boat and used it as a pulpit to teach the people. Peter had already worked all night and caught nothing. But after Jesus finished speaking, He told Peter to launch out into the deep and let down his nets. Peter obeyed, and suddenly there were so many fish that the nets began to break and the boats began to sink.

We often focus on the miracle of the catch, but think about what that provision meant. Peter and the others were about to leave their boats and follow Jesus. Those fish represented provision. While they followed Jesus and learned from Him, God had already demonstrated that He was able to take care of what they were leaving behind.

Then, in John 21:3–11, after the crucifixion and resurrection, Peter announced, “I am going fishing.” The disciples went with him. Once again, they fished all night and caught nothing. They had families and responsibilities. Life still had practical needs.

Then Jesus showed up.

From the shore, He told them to cast the net on the other side of the boat. They obeyed and pulled in 153 large fish.

The same Jesus who had provided at the beginning of their journey was still providing at the end.

Sometimes God’s provision is dramatic. You don’t know how you are going to feed your family, and bags of groceries unexpectedly appear. Your car is scheduled for repossession, and somehow the debt is paid. Other times, God’s provision comes with such divine irony that you can only laugh at how perfectly He orchestrated it.

Years ago, we were dealing with some issues with the IRS and were extremely strapped financially. After church one Sunday evening, we were expecting around forty people at our home for a get-together, but we really didn’t know how we were going to feed everyone.

That morning at church, an IRS employee who attended our congregation—and knew absolutely nothing about our financial situation—walked up to us. He explained that his department had hosted a hamburger cookout the night before and had a large amount of food left over. He wondered if we could use it for our gathering.

The very entity involved in our financial shortfall ended up providing the food that fed us and our entire gathering of friends!

Only God.

We sometimes become so focused on where provision is supposed to come from that we forget Who our Provider is. Peter probably expected fish to come through his skill as a fisherman. Instead, they came through obedience to a word from Jesus. We may expect provision from a paycheck, a client, a business deal, or a particular person—but God is not limited to any of those things.

The Source is God. Everything else is simply a channel He can use.

If He has called you to follow Him, you can trust Him with what concerns you. If He tells you to launch out again after an empty night, launch out. If He tells you to cast your net on the other side, cast it.

You may not know where the fish are coming from.

You may not know where the groceries are coming from.

You may not know how the bill is going to be paid.

But you can know this:

God always takes care of His own.