“And my God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:19
So many times I want to think of this verse in financial terms. God will supply all that I need to have a roof over my head, food on the table and clothes on my back. And, this is true. At Sweet Monday we have always relied on our Generous God to meet our needs. As the leader of a non-profit, again, I tend to think in terms of our accounting and budget.
But, there is so much more in this verse. ALL my needs – everything, as much as possible. I don’t know about you, but I’m a pretty needy person. I need rest, I need hope, I need courage, I need peace, I need power, I need strength, I need joy, I need help, I need healing, I need friends, I need family, I need love. And the list goes on and on and varies depending on the circumstances of the day.
I am learning daily to remind myself to rely on my Generous God to meet all my needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus. It means I have to look to Him, call on Him, trust Him and not myself.
The more you look to scripture the more you will find how God the Father, Jesus His Son, and the Holy Spirit really do meet all these needs and more!
As He meets our needs He is shaping us to be more like Himself – trading our weariness, despair, fear, weakness, sorrow, sickness, loneliness, and self-hatred for His glorious riches in Christ. His divine power has given us everything [all] that we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of Him who called us by his own glory and goodness. He is our good, good Father and He has promised to finish the good work He started in us.
So many times we feel like we have to muster up enough courage or faith. We have to manufacture peace or rely on our own power to make it through the day –hold on to the proverbial rope. That just gets us spinning in endless circles of exhaustion.
Listen to this, friend: The God who made you in the first place, the One who got you started, this is His message to you: “Don’t be afraid, I’ve redeemed you. I’ve called your name. You’re mine. When you’re in over your head, I’ll be there with you. When you’re in rough waters, you will not go down. When you’re between a rock and a hard place, it won’t be a dead end- Because I am God, your personal God, The Holy of Israel, your Savior. I paid a huge price for you…. That’s how much you mean to me! That’s how much I love you! I’d sell off the whole world to get you back, trade the creation just for you. (from Isaiah 43, the Message)
Here’s the beautiful story, we don’t have to do anything to earn God’s help or repay Him for the gifts He gives us in Christ. We can’t! They are God’s free gift poured out on us with grace and mercy through the blood of Jesus. That’s how much God loves us, He gave His only Son to pay the penalty for our sins when He died on the cross to redeem us and reconcile us to Himself. That’s how much we mean to Him.
Whatever your needs are today, God will supply all of them according to His riches in Christ Jesus. Call on His name. God tells us through Isaiah the prophet “The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy [all] your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.” (Isaiah 58:11)
More than anything else, all we really need is Jesus. When we have Him, we truly have everything we need.
His servant and yours,
Paula Nelson