Season of Prayer and Meditation Entry 7

Psalm 78

Click the verse link above. As you read the passage above, go back and take a close look at vv. 19-32.

And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19

The context for this passage: the apostle Paul has just been reporting to this group of Christ-followers about his use of their financial support and his gratitude for it. He seems to be aware that they gave the support out of their own lack... not out of plenty.

My God - the Creator of the universe is personal. He is enormously eternal. He is closely personal. He is mine. Like my ipod, engraved with my name, reserved for my personal connection. And yet not exclusively so. And yet personal and reserved for every person who puts living faith in Him. MY God. MINE. OURS.

...shall.. This is so sure. SHALL has such a sense of command to it. "Will" can have a sense of possibility. I often say that I "will" do something and it doesn't come about because of some interfering factor. But I don't use the word "shall" except to quote God. Unequivocally SHALL. Its the verbiage of the 10 commandments. SHALL.

...supply... As a noun supply can either be a necessary item OR an abundant stock of necessities. A supply. As a verb, it is to provide such things.

ALL I really hate it when God uses these words. It forces me to examine my personal failures. Because God never lies and because God is completely empowered to fulfill absolutes like this, if I don't see my life in alignment with this absolute then the problem is with my life - NOT WITH GOD. That means if I can't make it on what I have, I have gone beyond what I need OR I have taken a worldly view of quality and assumed that more expensive is better, or I have been duped in to the believe that the same product with a popular brand name is worth the premium price. I have all too often spent money on one thing with a brand name, stealing that money for the "supply" for another need. In the words of Charlie Brown, "Urrrrgh!" ALL. My needs are met. I'm sitting in a beautiful, warm, comfortable, dry living room. My pantry is full of ingredients that will sit unused for months waiting for the next time I make that "item." I read a statistic that says the average family could live for more than 2 months on just the calories in the ingredients in their pantry. MY GOD... ALL MY NEEDS.

my needs... Teach me about needs. Relieve me of wants. I need a miraculous transformation if I am really going to experience contentment.

according to His riches in Christ Jesus... my needs are found in Christ Jesus and met in Christ Jesus. I can't buy them at Marshall's or order them from Amazon or barter for them on Craig's List. Perhaps if I saw my needs through spiritual eyes I would recognize that what I need is spiritual instead of physical, eternal instead of temporal, godly instead of earthly. Food for the stomach, life for the soul.

Lord, guide me today to live in richness of your supply. Amen.