And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.
Philippians 4:19-20
The List Goes On
On any given day, if I sat down to make a list of my needs, the list could be quite long. I have emotional needs, financial needs, relational needs, material needs, spiritual needs, and on and on. This begs the question: where do I place my trust?
Sometimes my needs are overwhelming. Thankfully, the Bible says, “God will supply all your needs according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” Can I really trust Him to do that, though?
Enough Christ for My Need
As I read this verse, I began to ponder this question: what are God’s riches? I know He possesses all things and that everything I have is His. But on a day when I’m really needy, I’m not sure. I know God possesses all things. But is that enough for me to hold onto and know I can really trust Him?
I considered different attributes of God (some of His riches). I was reminded that in Exodus 34:6, God proclaims His name to Moses. Here, He describes Himself as “abounding in love.” “Abounding” sounds like riches to me! This is reiterated several times in the Old Testament (Numbers 14:18, Nehemiah 9:17, Psalm 86:5, Psalm 86:15, Psalm 103:8, Psalm 145:8, Joel 2:3, and Jonah 4:2).
A few of those times, “abounding in love” is paired with “faithfulness.” God loves us, so He wants to supply all our needs, and if He says He will do something, He will do it!
The Faithful God who Knows
Here’s the part that can be a little scary: God knows our needs (and us!) better than we do, and sometimes the way that He supplies our needs isn’t exactly the way we were hoping. We have to trust His love for us and His faithfulness to give us exactly what we really need, not what we think we need.
Remember: He gave His Son to meet our need for a Savior just as He said he would. If that’s not showing faithful love, I’m not sure what would! We need to make sure to recognize God’s abounding faithful love and His work in our lives as He supplies our needs, and we need to make sure to thank Him and give Him the glory for all that we have.
Now What?
Take a moment to consider your long list of needs (and maybe even wants!). How can you entrust these things to the Lord? Ask Him for the faith to believe in His provision in your life. Remind yourself that He is faithful. Trust as you wait upon the Lord.
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