Philippians 4-19 (NKJV)And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
Every Christian knows this scripture; I think it is one of the most popular in the church today. There are a lot of “needs” in the body of Christ and this scripture has been used as the “need buster”. Today I want to delve a little further into what we really need and how we are perceiving in our minds what we need and comparing that to what God thinks we need.
Let’s take a look at what Paul wrote in Philippians 4:10-13 (KJV):
But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at the last your care of me hath flourished again; wherein ye were also careful, but ye lacked opportunity. 11Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. 12I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: everywhere and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. 13I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
What Paul is saying here is that whatever state he is in he has learned to be content. Even though he might have lacked some things he was never in a state of want or poverty as it is defined. Well you might ask, how someone can say that if they are poor and hungry? My life and your life is nothing without a true revelation of a relationship with God. It’s not based on the external but rather the internal. Paul can say such things because nothing else mattered in his external life that could sway his relationship with God; just as long as he was connected to the True Vine he was nourished. You can only understand this concept with God’s wisdom.
Paul said he knows how to live with little and he knows how to live in abundance, and that in everything and in everyplace he is instructed to be full and to be hungry. Yes, he said instructed. Why would God instruct someone to be hungry? One thing about Paul is that he was a traveler and he had to come in contact with many different people, personalities, and situations. Through all of this he learned how to associate with the humble and not be high-minded. So even though sometimes he was hungry he was content and not fearful that he was not blessed because of what he was experiencing. Proverbs 4:13 (NKJV): Take firm hold of instruction, do not let go; Keep her for she is your life.
Ok now let’s bring it back to 2010 and your life, evaluate your life and your situation and think of all the things that you think you need. Are you lonely and want to be married, do you need a new car, do you need a job, do you need a miracle? Whatever it is you can think of, I want you to start looking at what you perceive as a need and evaluate it using Gods wisdom. Why is this situation the way it is, what can I learn from this, and can I learn to be content with my “need”? When it all comes down to it this need that you think is in your life may actually be ordained by God to make you stronger in your trust in Him.
The majority of believers here in America are taught that if you’re lacking something in your life then it’s not God. Well as we read from Paul this is not true, just because you are lacking something in the natural doesn’t mean that you are not blessed and that God is not with you. Abundance is based upon what you have on the inside first and not always so much as to how much money you have or what kind of car you drive. It may just be a challenge to get you to see that in whatever natural state you are in you should be content. Does this mean that we ought to get used to living a life in lack, absolutely not. Indeed God does want us to live in abundance and will grant us the desires of our hearts according to Psalm 37:4, but first He wants to make sure that our hearts are desiring the right thing and not just desiring everything that we think we need according to what we see with our natural eyes.
I pray this has been a blessing to you.
Daryle Houston II
Kingdom Vizion Ministries
www.kingdomvizion.org
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