When God Asks You to Let Go of Something He Provided
7 months ago, God gave us exactly what we needed, and now we are considering leaving it.
At first, I thought this might be a bad thing. If God provided it, does it mean this is where we are supposed to stay, or is this what we are meant to keep?
But I quickly realized I had attached my own expectations to God’s provision. He provided the house; I was the one assuming what that meant for our future.
Manna For The Day
In Exodus, God provides Israel with manna from heaven. He tells them to gather what they need for the day. I find it interesting to think about the manna that was leftover. We might look at what wasn’t gathered and call it wasted, but God was using even that abundance to teach His people daily dependence on Him. They weren’t supposed to gather extra just because it was there or store some away for tomorrow. On every day except the day before the Sabbath, when some kept their manna overnight, it spoiled.
God wasn’t teaching them to hold onto everything He provided. He was teaching them to trust that He would provide again.
We Move. A Lot.
This made me think differently about our housing dilemma. Was I trusting God for His daily provision, or was I trying to hold onto yesterday’s manna because I wasn’t sure what He would provide tomorrow? And was I willing to let God determine the purpose of His provision, or had I already decided for myself what I thought His provision was supposed to mean?
You could say our life is a little crazy. One year we are in Texas, another year we are in Reno, and in between we live in multiple Airbnbs with five kids and a dog.
We have moved more than 25 times in the last fourteen years, and we are thinking about moving again! We’ve only been in our current house for five months, and the question has come up several times now: “Should we move back into our old house?”
It would be reasonable to assume we really like moving, but the opposite is true. I would be totally fine settling down and never moving again! But God seems to have different plans for our life. With each move, I find myself learning the lesson of manna all over again: Will I trust God for what He has provided today without needing to know what He will provide tomorrow?
The “Shouse”
We have a property we call the “Shouse” because it is part house, part shop. We got it when my husband’s business was booming, and at the time, it seemed like the perfect property for the life we were building. Three years later, his industry collapsed, and our plans for the property changed with it. Eventually, we moved out and turned the Shouse into an Airbnb and event space. Now, it’s the very house we are considering moving back into.
You see, when we returned to Idaho after spending six months in Texas last year, moving back into the Shouse wasn’t really an option. It had become a functioning Airbnb with booking after booking already on the calendar. So, for several months, we lived out of our suitcases. When the Shouse wasn’t booked, we stayed there. When guests were coming, we packed up five kids and moved into another Airbnb ourselves.
It was exhausting!
The Prayer That Changed Everything
Just after Christmas, I started praying very specifically that God would provide a home for us by February. I confidently told my husband not to worry—God was going to provide something. We looked at short-term rentals and put in applications, but nothing seemed to be working out.
Then, at the end of January, just days before February, a friend mentioned that their house was going up for rent.
It was perfect for us.
My husband called, and they told us we could move in February 2.
Five months ago, when we desperately needed somewhere to live, God provided this house almost exactly when I had been praying He would. And now we’re considering leaving it.
That’s where I found myself wrestling with the question: If I know God provided this house, does leaving it mean walking away from His provision? Or could trusting Him mean being willing to receive what He provides for today, and trust Him again for tomorrow?
The Temptation to Doubt
I’ll admit, the thought of moving again overwhelms me. Sometimes it causes me to question everything I think I know about hearing from God. I know how unstable our life can appear from the outside, and there are moments when I wonder if we’ve gotten it all wrong.
The temptation to doubt God, doubt yourself, or become paralyzed by life’s ever-changing plot is real. Walking by faith isn’t easy. It requires trusting God when we can’t yet see where He is leading (Kind of like watching Bob Ross paint a landscape).
But I’ve learned so many times that this is where we grow.
Through all the moves, houses, uncertainty, and change of the last fourteen years, I have grown in my knowledge of who God is. Each season has revealed more of His character and given me another opportunity to trust what I have learned about Him.
Not that I have God figured out; I certainly don’t. But we are called to grow in our knowledge of Him, and that knowledge doesn’t come merely from reading about Him in Scripture. We read His Word to know what is true about Him, and then life gives us countless opportunities to actually walk in those truths. At some point, we all have to trust God in what we’ve learned about Him.
Try this next…
Extreme Gratitude
As I’ve pondered another move, what I’ve felt most is gratitude.
God provided this house exactly when we needed it. For the last five months, it has been His provision for our family. And whether we stay here another five months or another five years doesn’t change that. What it proves is that God is faithful in every season.
Maybe that’s what I’m learning from the manna.
The Israelites couldn’t store up what God had provided yesterday because they were afraid about tomorrow. They had to receive what He gave them for the day and trust that when morning came, He would still be faithful.
I don’t want to hold onto yesterday’s manna simply because I’m afraid of what tomorrow might require.
Maybe this house was God’s provision for five months. Maybe we’ll stay longer. I don’t know yet. But I don’t have to know what comes next to be grateful for what He has already given us.
I only have to trust that the God who provided yesterday will still be faithful tomorrow.
If God has given you something for a season, thank Him for His provision. Hold it with open hands. And when He asks you to move forward, be willing to let it go. God’s provision does not always mean “permanence.”
