WANTS AND NEEDS
Recently I was thinking about some of the things I want to accomplish in my life. I want to live to see my children grow up into adults. I want to be debt free. I want to buy a bigger house. I want my wife to experience the finer things in life.
Now wanting these things are not bad at all. However, sometimes we have a tendency to allow our wants to become our needs. They become the things we think about every single day. They can easily become the things that we feel we cannot live without. They run the risk of separating us from God.
In the Kingdom Constitution, Paul says in Philippians 4:19 that, “But my God shall supply all your needs according to his riches and glory by Christ Jesus.” This is a powerful statement because it implies that we do not know what we need unless the Word defines what we need. What we often times feel we “need” in this life are not actually needs at all. God will supply our needs, but only according to His riches and glory, not OUR riches and glory. Now this doesn’t mean it’s wrong to have wants and to desire nice things in life. God wants you to have an abundant life. But He wants us to clearly know the difference between wants and needs. He teaches us that wants should be placed in their proper place. And that proper place is after we seek him for what we “need”.
Psalms 37: 4 says, “Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” But we tend to think that this is a blank check and that God will give us whatever we want. No, it says we must first “take delight in the Lord”. That means that His wants become our wants and his needs for us become the very things we seek for. So encourage yourself today. Know that God will supply your needs and also give you some wants to go along with them.
Thinking The Kingdom Thoughts View All →
What I want the most is for this to not be about me. But rather the focus be placed on Jesus Christ; the author and finisher of our faith. I am just a vessel willing to be used by him and for him.
Amen that’s awesome.
Mae Lott That was awesome about need/want I myself have to ask myself the question some times
Good read Bro. Terry! Keep reading, keep posting!!!
Will do! And thank you for all you’ve taught me!
Awesome read Bro. Terry!
Thanks!!!!
I have a question? Why is it that the people who have the homes, the cars, spouses, good jobs are the ones that is always saying trust God…He will. Well what about the ones who are delighting themselves in Lord. And nothing has happen for them.
Well what we have to do is look at the “fruit” of people who have what appears to be “success”. Sometimes the ones who say “trust God” did not trust God to get what they have. It’s easy to tell someone to “trust” when you already have it all. For the ones who are delighting themselves in the Lord, sometimes God withholds things from you to protect you. To delight in the Lord means to want what he wants. And He wants you to be ready before he blesses you so he allows you to wait. And it’s in the wait that you TRULY get to know God and what he can do. We must be careful when we see people who appear to have the things we want. You never know what they’re dealing with just to have those things.
We are sometimes looking so hard for our wants that we miss when God gives us what we need. As always great lesson.
Thanks Clara!
Great message on wants and needs. Thanks Bro.
Very welcome! Thanks for being a constant reader!
A powerful lesson Terry.
Yes indeed.
Thank you Terry for your reply. I like your response.
You are welcome!!