Pastor's Corner: God provides for all your needs

Last Sunday, June 6, I preached one of God's great promises - Philippians 4:19: "And my God will fully satisfy every need of yours according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus." This promise establishes the fact that God will satisfy every need of yours. In the Bible book of Genesis, Abraham called God "Jehovah Jireh," which means "the Lord will provide." In the New Testament, the Apostle Paul builds upon that title with our theme verse Philippians 4:19. It is apparent that God provided faithfully for Paul. In unpacking Philippians 4:19, we can learn a great deal about how God intends to provide for us, too.

"And my God": Paul personalized God. Paul had a personal relationship with God. Paul knew that God shows no favoritism. Paul would say, "the same God who takes care of me will take care of you." Paul's God is your God and my God, and He will fully provide for you and me just the same as he provided for Paul.

"Will fully satisfy": Paul reveals the guarantee that the God who calls you knows the needs of your call. God is ready and able to supply the "whole kit and caboodle," right down to the last cent. And often God will also leave some to spare as a blessing for your obedience.

"Every need of yours": A need is considered something that is essential to accomplish a certain purpose: food, water, shelter; acceptance, love, value; support your family ... Paul assures us that just as God has always done for His people, God will provide for your every need. But we must be careful not to confuse needs with wants. Wants are often luxuries, which would be nice to have but are not crucial to the mission. If they are not harmful to your overall well-being and purpose, God delights in blessing you with your wants. But unlike a need, God doesn't promise to provide wants.

"According to His riches in glory": God doesn't provide for your every need out of His riches but according to them. God keeps no inventory on His provisions; they never run out. God's provision is not according to anything of yours. God supplies according to His mercy, grace and unconditional love, not according to your perfect behavior. Psalm 84:11 declares that God holds no good thing back from His children. God meets our needs according to the glory of who He is, not according to what we do, which is precisely why we can count on it.

"In Christ Jesus": Paul directs us to the signature on the check of the promise: "in Christ Jesus."  Jesus' name is always the guarantor of any of God's promises. Psalm 24:1 reveals that God owns everything. The resources of heaven and earth are at His disposal, which means He is able to provide for you. To see if God is willing to provide for you, you need to look no further than Christ on the cross. God's sacrifice of His only Son demonstrates the extreme lengths He is willing to go to provide what you need.

God doesn't want us to beg Him for our needs. God sometimes has to say, "This isn't your problem; it's Mine" - Matthew 6:25-26. More than anything else in creation, you and I are God's priority because we are His children and He is our Father. And as a good Father, God is never delinquent in His fatherly responsibilities to provide. Your needs are not your problem. You don't have to beg God. If a thing is necessary for life or essential to something He has asked you to do, then God wants you to be assured of His promise to provide it. Your only responsibility in God's provision is to look to Him above all things - Matthew 6:33. As you keep your eyes on God, he will keep His hand of provision on you. No begging is necessary - only trust and obedience.

God wants to bless you! Would you like to know why? The devil loves for Christians to remain in financial struggle or to just get by because it keeps us focused only on ourselves. And God does sometimes call us into difficult situations, which He uses to shape us for the better. And we all know that God doesn't always give us what we want. But we shouldn't have a mind-set that God is withholding anything we need or that He wants us to remain in difficulty forever. All throughout the Bible we see that it is prosperity and well-being - not poverty and struggle - that God ultimately desires for His people: Joshua 1:8; Psalm 1:1-3; Psalm 35:27; 2 Corinthians 9:8. These Scriptures are clear that God not only promises to meet our needs, but that He also delights to bless us far and above what we need.

And God does this for at least a couple of reasons. God blesses us to be a blessing. God promised to bless Abraham and his nation so that they would be a blessing to others - Genesis 12:2. God blesses us for the same purpose – to be a blessing to others. Clenched hands can hold only so much, and they can't continue to receive. But open palms allow gifts to continue to come in and go out, which makes you a flowing river of blessings. Through this posture, not only are your needs met, but also you get the joy of being part of God meeting the needs of other people. If you want the prosperity of God, you must show that you can handle it. Being a cheapskate isn't going to do it! Begin by giving to others. As you give, God will be faithful to replenish. Yes. He will bless you to be a blessing. God blesses us to draw others to Him. God's desire for His people wasn't just to meet their need for land, but to bless them with more than enough. God explained His reasoning to Moses: God wanted other nations to marvel at and envy how much the God of Israel blessed His people so that in their amazement they might want to serve Him too. The blessings in your life should direct people to the God who provides those blessings. People will see the God of your prosperity by the peace through which you live and the cheerfulness through which you give.

There are more ways than money for God to bless you. God has more than one way to bless and provide: a well-paying job; financial favor; gifts from other believers; friendship. ... When Israel needed deliverance from captivity in Egypt, God raised up Moses to bring them out. Through a rock God provided His people with water. Out of thin air God faithfully delivered food each morning to His people in the middle of the desert. Provision might come in the most unconventional or unlikely ways, but be assured that it will come.

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The Rev. Edroy "Curt" Curtis; president of the Greater Havre Area Ministerial Association; Northern Montana Care Center chaplain, and lead pastor of Havre Assembly of God Church