Where God Guides He Provides

Philippians 4:19 NKJV And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

The longer you walk with Jesus in your life, the more you come to realize and appreciate His tremendous faithfulness. There has not been one day where God was unfaithful to us and there never will be such a day. Even as we wrestle with the issues of life and perhaps become a bit faithless ourselves, He remains faithful (2 Timothy 2:13).

When it comes to our needs, God always provides. If God is in it, He’ll provide all that we need. He’ll supply all the energy, time, effort, open doors, people, money, wisdom, and whatever it takes in helping us fulfill His will. The problem, of course, is how we define needs. So often we mistake wants and desires for needs. God, although He abundantly blesses us above all we could think or ask, doesn’t promise to provide for our wants, but only our needs. Anything above our needs is a bonus!

What’s true for us individually is true for our church. As our church meets various needs, we can be assured that God will provide. We don’t need to hype it up, put undo pressure on people, or lay heavy ‘giving’ guilt-trips. God will move upon our hearts to participate in the awesome work He’s doing in and through us! It’s so wonderful and freeing.

Be careful this week to consider your needs before the Lord. Ask Him to show you the difference between your needs and your wants. Then, lay it all before Him, trusting Him to provide as He guides.

Trusting Him,
Pastor Ed


Response
This devotion came at just the right time this morning. As a life-long “try harder to get it right” girl, I have been struggling to understand God’s grace and how it is that I can just rest in Him. My lifelong standard has been to “get it right,” and it seems that the harder I try, the more I botch it up. I’ve been so blessed by the messages about grace that you have been teaching, and realized as I read this that when I try to live up to the standard I set for myself (which is impossible being that I tend toward perfectionism) I am setting aside His grace. I’m slowly learning to relax in Him, to rest in the work He has already done. Thank you for teaching grace. I have a bit of a thick skull, but I am getting it. God has been so faithful to speak His grace to me, particularly on the days when I am wrestling with the simplicity of what He has done and is doing in me.