Philippians 4:19
The church in Philippi, to whom Paul is writing, was the only church giving to Paul at the time he penned this letter. Paul responded to them saying that God would meet all their needs. They would be blessed for their giving to him in his time of need.
God knows my needs before I even ask Him (Matthew 6:32), yet I am to bring them to Him realizing my need for Him and that it is His provision, strength, and power that supply my needs. My needs fall into two categories: physical and spiritual. My basic physical needs are food, water, shelter, clothing (or some type of covering to protect from weather). However, my physical needs are insignificant in light of my spiritual need for God. Spiritually, I can't do anything to atone for my sins. I need Christ's shed blood to cover my sins. I need God's strength and power working in me to accomplish His will. Matthew 6:33 says, "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you as well." The "things" referred to in this verse points back to the previous verses where Matthew talks about worrying about my food, water, clothing. I have found in some cases, God allows me to experience physical needs to drive me closer to Him. Oftentimes, it's my spiritual needs that need to be met before my physical ones, and God provides for both. As I focus on Christ and allow God to meet my spiritual needs, I find that most of what I thought I "needed" begins to diminish. As I begin to feed my soul and grow closer in relationship to God, my desires begin to become more like His. I begin to find out that there's not really much I "need" on this earth. God gives me what I need physically and spiritually so that I can be His hands, feet, and mouth to others here on this earth. In 2 Corinthians 9:6-7, Paul speaks of how "God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all you need, you will abound in every good work."
In Psalm 23:1, David claims, "The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want." I don't think David is referring to material items here when he states, "I shall not want." I believe he is referring more to a contentment that comes from resting in Christ, knowing that as the Shepherd, He will take care of His sheep. Christ is the Good Shepherd, as He calls Himself in John 10:11-16, and He knows my needs. I can rest in Him assured that He is watching out for me. Contentment, in the world today, is difficult to experience. The world constantly bombards me with "things" I "need" in order to be happy and "content." Yet, it is only a temporary feeling of satisfaction, and then I'm back to wanting more. Not to mention, none of it matters in the end. Instead, I need to cling to what Paul tells me in Romans 8:17, "Now if we are children, then we are heirs - heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ if we indeed we share in His sufferings in order that we may also share in His glory." Because I am a child of God, I am a joint heir with Christ. No matter what I may lack on this earth physically, I am rich because of Christ's work on the cross!
My God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.
The church in Philippi, to whom Paul is writing, was the only church giving to Paul at the time he penned this letter. Paul responded to them saying that God would meet all their needs. They would be blessed for their giving to him in his time of need.
God knows my needs before I even ask Him (Matthew 6:32), yet I am to bring them to Him realizing my need for Him and that it is His provision, strength, and power that supply my needs. My needs fall into two categories: physical and spiritual. My basic physical needs are food, water, shelter, clothing (or some type of covering to protect from weather). However, my physical needs are insignificant in light of my spiritual need for God. Spiritually, I can't do anything to atone for my sins. I need Christ's shed blood to cover my sins. I need God's strength and power working in me to accomplish His will. Matthew 6:33 says, "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you as well." The "things" referred to in this verse points back to the previous verses where Matthew talks about worrying about my food, water, clothing. I have found in some cases, God allows me to experience physical needs to drive me closer to Him. Oftentimes, it's my spiritual needs that need to be met before my physical ones, and God provides for both. As I focus on Christ and allow God to meet my spiritual needs, I find that most of what I thought I "needed" begins to diminish. As I begin to feed my soul and grow closer in relationship to God, my desires begin to become more like His. I begin to find out that there's not really much I "need" on this earth. God gives me what I need physically and spiritually so that I can be His hands, feet, and mouth to others here on this earth. In 2 Corinthians 9:6-7, Paul speaks of how "God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all you need, you will abound in every good work."
In Psalm 23:1, David claims, "The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want." I don't think David is referring to material items here when he states, "I shall not want." I believe he is referring more to a contentment that comes from resting in Christ, knowing that as the Shepherd, He will take care of His sheep. Christ is the Good Shepherd, as He calls Himself in John 10:11-16, and He knows my needs. I can rest in Him assured that He is watching out for me. Contentment, in the world today, is difficult to experience. The world constantly bombards me with "things" I "need" in order to be happy and "content." Yet, it is only a temporary feeling of satisfaction, and then I'm back to wanting more. Not to mention, none of it matters in the end. Instead, I need to cling to what Paul tells me in Romans 8:17, "Now if we are children, then we are heirs - heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ if we indeed we share in His sufferings in order that we may also share in His glory." Because I am a child of God, I am a joint heir with Christ. No matter what I may lack on this earth physically, I am rich because of Christ's work on the cross!
I added Matthew 6:33 to my stack of scripture to memorize.... I love the way the video explained the reasons we need to do this!
ReplyDeleteMatthew 6:33 is a great verse to commit to memory!
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