My God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:19)
We find ourselves dissatisfied with our lot in life when we mix up our understanding of needs and wants. Today’s verse assures us that God has promised to meet our every need, but not our every want. If God cares for the birds of the air and the flowers of the field — and He most certainly does — then He surely cares for you and will fulfill His promise to meet your needs . . . not just daily, but moment by moment. The only time your needs will not be met on this side of the grave will be when you have completed your ministry of service to Him and breathe your last. But then you will be present with Him in glory, where there will be will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain (Revelation 21:4).
But does this mean that God has no concern for our wants? Does he care nothing about satisfying them in our lives? Nothing could be further from the truth! One of the most memorable passages of Scripture is Psalm 37:4, which assures us, “Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.” When we are delighting in the Lord, the Lord delights to give us our desires, because our desires are in line with His desires for us. God delights in blessing His people with good things, and we are to receive them with joy and thanksgiving, knowing that we have been blessed so that we can be a blessing to others.
If you have children, you can think about this from a parent’s perspective. Don’t you want to give your children the very best life has to offer? Of course you do! You love your kids and want the best for them. The same is true for God. He loves all of His children and delights in giving them the desires of their hearts.
The deepest biblical understanding of what it means to “delight in the Lord” is to make our Lord our greatest delight. When we do, we can be assured that our Lord will delight in not only meeting our needs, but in granting us the deepest desires of our heart.
I am often asked, “How do I know if I am truly delighting in the Lord?” The answer is surprisingly simple: Look at how you spend your time. If all you are using out of the 168 hours you have been given each week is one hour in the presence of your Lord on Sunday morning, it is painfully obvious that there is precious little “delight” for you . . . only desultory duty. But if you are spending time each day on your knees and in His Word, then your desires will begin to conform to His desires for you, and you will be ready to receive all that God has purposed and planned for your life.
When we truly believe that God is our greatest good, both needs and wants are ours .
This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!
Grace for the Race 