This evening we looked at one of the most encouraging verses in the whole Bible: ‘And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.’ (Phil 4:19) Here, Paul promises not only that God will meet all our needs but that this is entirely possible because of the riches of His glory. Our God is both willing and able to meet needs!
Needs so often define our everyday lives: physical needs (the need for food and water, shelter, clothes and so on), emotional needs (for significance, security and self-worth) and spiritual needs (the need to belong, to feel loved, to know we are accepted and forgiven by God.) But we often confuse and conflate needs with wants and can end up feeling disgruntled instead of contented, rather like the demanding toddler whose meltdowns over trivial thing make life difficult!
God does not promise to meet all our wants, but He is our provider and protector. Paul had learned even through imprisonment to be content no matter what the circumstances, because he was convinced God was working for good in it all. (Rom 8:28) Imprisonment is leading to others knowing boldness in witness and in people becoming Christians (Phil 1:12-14, 19) and therefore, he was content and secure in God’s provision.
Paul was grateful for all the help the Philippians had given him, and urges us to be one of the means God uses to meet people’s needs, rather like the boy whose lunch fed five thousand. After all, God loves a generous giver (2 Cor 9:7-8) and all we have is from God anyway. (1 Chron 29:14) As we seek to be generous and to honour God through our tithes and offerings, He promises to bless us (see Malachi 3:8-12). As we find God faithful and trustworthy, we can bless others and be the human means God uses to meet their needs… and so the circle of giving and receiving goes on and on. Jesus said, ‘Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.’ (Luke 6:38) Try it and see.
