Skip to main content

All Your Needs


Moreover, as you Philippians know, in the early days of your acquaintance with the gospel, when I set out from Macedonia, not one church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except you only; for even when I was in Thessalonica, you sent me aid again and again when I was in need. Not that I am looking for a gift, but I am looking for what may be credited to your account. I have received full payment and even more; I am amply supplied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God. And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus. To our God and Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen (Philippians 4:15-20) 

      Almost three years ago, I made a tough decision. I have friends who have faced tough decisions. I have a great niece who is facing a tough decision and another the consequences of a tough decision. Tough decisions often result in other tough decisions. Somewhere along the line, there are needs involved. There are times of recrimination and regret, there’s a lot of exhaustion, and far too little reward. Friends and family members are known to mysteriously disappear – not always, sometimes they rally around like soldiers, and sometimes they can’t help – but some disappear. 
         And sometimes, you wish they’d disappear. I don’t know how many times I’ve been told how to handle the situation with Dad. Some think I should put him in a home. Some think I should be able to get someone to come in to help. The books all tell that I’m supposed to be able to live my own life and of course, somehow have the funds to hire a respite caregiver – because, of course, I have needs, too. 
         They’re right, of course. I have needs, too. So do my great nieces, and my friends and family. As I said yesterday, I’m feeling hemmed in by those decisions, closed off. It’s not that friends and family have abandoned me, but that I am cut off from them. And the reason that is OK is because God is good. 
         I found myself caught between “You need to take care of yourself,” (the world’s view) and “And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (The Bible’s view.) I am not consistent. I know I need to take better care of myself but yesterday morning and this morning I am dealing with being hemmed in, and the reality is that God can meet my needs, perhaps in ways I haven’t considered yet. Since He has hemmed me in, or is hemming me in, then this is the promise available to me. God can meet all my needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. Somehow, God will meet all my needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. I won’t know how He’ll do it, but I suspect now’s the time to stand and watch and see the salvation He brings. It’s time to say, “OK, God, do Your God thing.”

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The List

              Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,   through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;   perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. (Romans 5:1-5)           Think about it. We have been justified. At least, we could be justified if we stopped insisting that our justification be based on our merits. We have peace with God, or could have peace if we stopped throwing temper tantrums. We have gained access into grace i...
Post a Comment
Read more

Meditations of the Heart

  May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. (Psalm19:14)           As I started writing this post, I noted that the meditations of my heart are all over the mental landscape, from a hub where eight superhighways come together to a lunar or nuclear landscape. Do you see my error? The moment I read the word meditation , I think about thoughts. But what’s described here is the meditations of our hearts ; our wills.           While the meditations of our minds may be all over the place, the meditations of our wills tend to be a little more stable by the time we are adults. We no longer tend to want to pursue the ten separate careers we did in any given day as children. Part of this is humble acceptance of reality. We come to understand that we can’t do it all. I think another part of it is disappointmen...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Way, The Truth, and The Life

              Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me . (John 14:6)           If “I am the gate of the sheep…I am the good shepherd” from chapter 10 is a double whammy, this verse is a triple whammy. And its first victim is the notion that any other so-called god was acceptable or the same as Jesus. He, and He alone is the way, the truth, and the life, and the only way to get to the Father. There is no other Savior, or Redeemer, according to Jesus. Now, to be fair, other religions will claim that their religion or god(s) are the only way. That is the nature of gods and of religions. If this and that are equally good and agree on what’s necessary, then this and that are the same thing, so there’s no need to from the other to one. If that’s the case, then why speak against the other or promote the one? There’s a song I’ve been listening to i...
Post a Comment
Read more