Wednesday, July 12, 2023

Philippians 4:19 -- On Needs, and Blessings, and Patience

"But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus."
Philippians 4:19


This is a similar statement, though slightly less poetic, than the one in Psalms 23:1: "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want." And it is a powerful idea here, that if we live guided by the Lord, we won't lack for anything that we truly need.
He will provide for us.

This is absolutely true of course, but sometimes we get frustrated, wondering why we don't have something that we want, exactly when we want it. And that's where faith comes in, because trusting God to guide us isn't the same as demanding that he give us whatever we want. He takes what we want into account, of course, and enjoys giving us things from his "riches" (basically everything) that suit us individually, but the Lord wouldn't be a very good shepherd if he gave us gifts that he knew would destroy us, even when we ask for them. He protects us from our own desires sometimes, while teaching us individually how to want something better, and he reserves our blessings sometimes until everything is in place for it to go perfectly... and sometimes that takes a lot longer than we want it to.

Today, let's trust God to supply all our needs and provide for us, in his way and on his timeline, knowing that he is wiser than we are, and being open to change our perspective and our hearts, as we learn from God. Let's work on having patience while the Lord orchestrates the perfect happy ending for us all, and listening to God when he nudges us about providing his blessings to those around us. Let's be his hand in making the world better for others even as he moves other hands and other events to bless us.

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