“So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and He will give you everything you need.” (Matthew 6:31-33 NLT)
What do you need? No, not what you strongly desire, what do you genuinely NEED? Need is quite different than want or desire. I may need a different car, but that doesn’t necessarily mean I need a new car, as in brand new. The last car I bought was seven years old but had less than 20,000 miles. I’ve had it for more than 3 years and haven’t had any issues other than routine maintenance.
We have an argument with our spouse, and we think we NEED a new one. Our job gets stressful because the boss embarrasses us in front of our fellow employees and we’re ready to quit. The list is long of things that frustrate, embarrass, or anger us to the point of wanting to seek a change, and that’s not always bad or wrong. But do we NEED a change?
The issue isn’t that we never have a need that deserves attention, the issue is we too often confuse our wants and needs. Think of the times you’ve had a nagging cough, pain, or physical issue that “needed” attention, but you didn’t “want” to go to the doctor. Or the persistent voice of the Holy Spirit prompting you to stop or start something that you didn’t want to start or stop.
I’m reminded of Francis Chan’s words when he wrote: “The irony is that while God doesn’t need us but still wants us, we desperately need God but don’t really want Him most of the time.” We too often fail to realize that the Lord is interested and, if we’re His child, invested in our decisions. He genuinely desires to guide us in our decisions because He alone knows the outcome of each one.
We often make decisions without thinking of asking the Lord because we don’t think they have any real consequence, especially in our spiritual life. But think of the small child who thinks they know everything about everything when, in fact, they know very little about anything. They want their way, but as a loving parent we need to set realistic boundaries, not to restrict them, but to protect them.
God feels that way about us. He has no desire to harness our enthusiasm for Him, but to guard and guide us in the ways we pursue our desires, as pure as they may be, in following Him. For example, We may have small children, be on a very tight budget, and have limited resources, but we believe God is calling us to quit our job(s), sell everything and go serve Him on a foreign mission field.
And He may well be, but might it be that we’re blinded to our mission right where we are by the frustration of our current circumstances? We can get so buried in our routine that we fail to dream about how God might need us to serve right where He planted us.
It’s no accident that we’re where we are. Dare to look around you. Where do you live? Where do you work? Where is your family? Your church family? Who are your neighbors? What needs exist in your own community? In your own family? In your own life?
Ministry grows out of needs the Lord reveals to us when we place our wants behind the needs of others. What is the Lord laying on your heart to do right where you are – where you live, work, play, shop, worship? The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few, often, I’m convinced, because we just don’t take the time to see beyond our wants to their needs.
Food for thought.
Blessings, Ed 😊
Walking With Jesus 