Doubt in the Wilderness: Can God Provide?
"Can God prepare a table in the wilderness?" (Psalm 78:19). This question was asked by the Israelites in the desert after they had left Egypt. They had seen miracle after miracle take place. They had been given the answer to a prayer they had prayed for 400 years. The waters of the Red Sea had parted for them. They had received their deliverer Moses and been provided water, literally, from a rock, and yet they asked, "Can God....?"
In spite of their doubts, God yet again provided for them with manna from Heaven. Yet this was not enough for them. They asked God to give them "the food of their fancy" (Psalm 78:18). This tested God. The miraculous manna from Heaven wasn't enough. They wanted meat. Not only were they dissatisfied with God's blessings, but they even doubted His ability to provide at all. "They said, 'Can God provide a table in the wilderness?'"
God’s Response: Provision and Judgment
God's response was to be furious with His people. Their lack of trust and disbelief is what angered God. God provided these rebellious children with quail that literally fell from the sky into their camp; yet, while "the meat was still between their teeth" (Numbers 11:32-35), He struck them with a plague. After such a punishment, they returned to Him, remembering His mighty deeds, but even then they flattered God, lied to Him, and were not faithful. But still, God showed compassion and patience with His people because He knew they were "but flesh, a breath that passes away" (Psalm 78:39).
When Have We Asked, ‘Can God…?
When we read these stories so many thousand years later, it seems completely unbelievable that they could have doubts. It seems unreal that they would abandon God and become unfaithful, and yet they are very much an example of what can happen to any of us. When have we asked, "Can God...?"
And when have we believed, "God can..." because He is faithful and just? God can, because He is loving and true. God can, because we ask believing for those things we need. We believe this because, like the Israelites, we have seen His providence and care in the past and we have faith that He is still a God who can. Just as the Israelites wrestled with doubt despite witnessing God’s miraculous provision, modern believers continue to encounter moments where their faith is tested—but time and again, God shows up in unexpected ways.
George Müller’s Faith and God’s Provision
One such person is George Müller, who in the 1800s ran orphanages for thousands of children in England. He never asked for money or donations, but wholly depended on God to provide for their needs. One day one of the orphanages totally ran out of food. Müller instructed the children to sit at the table as he prayed a pray of thanksgiving for food. Food they did not have.
There was a knock at the door. It was a local baker who had felt God urging him to bake extra bread in the night to bring to the children. Next, a milk cart broke down directly in front of his orphanage, and rather than let all the milk spoil, the milkman offered it to the children. Despite the challenges, God provided—just as Müller faithfully believed He would.
Eric Liddell: Trusting God in Hardship
Eric Liddell, best known for his refusal to run on a Sunday during the 1924 Olympics, later became a missionary in China. When World War II broke out, he was sent to the Weihsien Internment Camp in 1943, where conditions were harsh—food was scarce, disease was rampant, and resources were limited. Yet, instead of seeking special treatment, Liddell devoted himself to serving others, teaching children, organizing games, and encouraging fellow prisoners in their faith.
Though doubt and discouragement could have easily taken hold, Liddell and other Christians in the camp prayed for God’s provision. Miraculously, help arrived at just the right times—through Red Cross packages and local Chinese believers who risked their lives to bring food and supplies. Even in suffering, God provided. Though Liddell passed away before the war ended, his unwavering faith and selfless service left a lasting impact on those around him, a testament to God’s faithfulness in even the darkest circumstances.
A Life Transformed: God’s Power in the Midst of Tragedy
God provides not only for physical needs but also for the renewal of our hearts. In 2011, a 26-year-old man from Ipoh, Malaysia, experienced a life-altering tragedy. While driving with his friend, they were struck head-on by a car traveling the wrong way. His friend did not survive, and he was left in a coma for two months.
When he finally woke up, he had suffered massive head trauma and had to relearn everything from scratch. Simple tasks became overwhelming challenges, and recovery was a slow, painful process. After months of rehabilitation, he was finally able to walk again. In the midst of his struggle, a friend gave him a Bible and encouraged him to seek answers in God's Word.
One day, he came across 2 Corinthians 5:17, which says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” These words stirred something deep within him. He later shared, “Instantly, my heart was lifted. This teaching by Jesus reinvigorated me and filled me with hope—God loves me, and I am His new creation! From then on, I would tell myself whenever I felt like giving up, ‘Don’t cry, don’t be discouraged. God will lead the way, just follow Him in faith.’”
His recovery became more than just physical healing—it became a spiritual transformation. Since that moment, sharing his faith in God has become a priority. He thanks God for “using the accident to change me inside out.”
His story is a powerful reminder that God's provision is not always about meeting material needs. Sometimes, His greatest gift is a renewed heart and a strengthened faith. God will provide our greatest need. Just as God provided for the Israelites in the wilderness, just as He sustained George Müller and Eric Liddell, He continues to show up in the lives of those who trust Him. Even in the darkest seasons, He remains faithful.
Can God Provide? Trusting Him in Every Season
Each of us can probably remember a time in our lives when like the Israelites, we forgot the goodness of God. It may have been a time when we doubted His ability to take care of us or those we love. Sometimes we find ourselves waiting on God. Was it when someone we loved was sick and near death, was it after a divorce, or was it in the middle of a drug-induced psychosis? Is that when we asked, "Can God?"
The older we get the more examples we can see of God's great faithfulness even when we have been unfaithful. There was the time we were saved from being run over by a stranger at the last minute, or the time we were down to our last dollar and someone out of nowhere reached out to help. In a million ways we can look at our lives and see God's hand of providence guiding us to that moment when we faced the reality of our great need for Him. He had preserved us, often in spite of ourselves, for that very time.
Passing Down the Testimony of God’s Provision
God is patient with our lack of faith and trust, but only up to a point. Sometimes He has to remind us who He is for our own good. The stories of the Israelites and their forgetfulness are in the Bible for a reason. We are to learn from their mistakes so as to not repeat them.
The beginning of Psalm 78 reminds us to teach these stories of God's strength and wonderful works to the generations to come (Psalm 78:4). Why? So that their children and their children's children might "set their hope in God, And not forget the works of God" (Psalm 78:7). All of this so that they would not be like their fathers but would keep His commandments (Psalm 78:7-8).
This admonition, this warning, is for us as well. God may not have parted the Red Sea for our parents, or provided water from a rock in the desert, but He still remains our faithful provider. And He desires to be acknowledged as such. Is our faith so weak, or are our memories so frail, that we can't remember His past provisions? Can God provide? Of course, and we must trust Him in every season to do so.
Let's do our part to pass on to our children and their children the many ways we have witnessed God's faithfulness—not just in the big, dramatic ways, but also in the small, everyday, simple ways that make our lives worth living for Him. God can prepare a table in the wilderness, and we know it!
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