You Will Have What You Need
Posted by Dion Todd October 15th, 2023 3,243 Views 0 Comments
You Will Have What You Need from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo.
We really live in exciting times. We are coming out of a global pandemic with millions dead. Wars rage around the world, with people launching billions of dollars in missiles while others wish they had a bowl of rice. The U.S. Government is approaching its fourth shutdown showdown this year. Earth has come a long way from the Garden of Eden, and we did it.
People are anxious, worried, and living in fear. Hope is hard to find. Yet, when you look deeper, what has changed? Has God Almighty changed? Is Jesus stressed out and wringing His hands in despair? Do you think the Ancient of Days, who knows the end from the beginning, was surprised by recent events? Nay, I say.
We are here for such a time as this: exciting times. It is time to rise to the occasion, to meet the challenge, to stand in faith in the face of fear. God is not dead, so what's your mind on today? Will there be enough for tomorrow? Will there be a tomorrow? Snap out of it.
Why is our faith shaken so easily? Faith needs to be tested, stretched and strained like a muscle so it can grow. Trying times provide opportunities for advancement in the Kingdom - faith in the face of adversity. The house built on the Rock will stand when the storm comes. No matter what comes on the Earth, the Lord will take care of His children.
You will have what you need.
You will have what you need.
The duplication is not a mistake:
(Genesis 41:32 NKJV) And the dream was repeated to Pharaoh twice because the thing is established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass.
What you need might not be what you want, but it can be better. For example, the Lord does not give the birds of the air a Cadillac. He gives them something better: wings. He knows what we really need before we ask Him, and believe me, our prayers have made Him laugh a few times. Because we don't always know what we really need until we have it:
(Acts 3:1–3 NKJV) Now Peter and John went up together to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. And a certain man lame from his mother's womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms from those who entered the temple; who, seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, asked for alms.
This poor man, who was crippled his entire life, thought he needed money. So he had people carry him to the temple gate each day, where he sat begging for coins. It was a low existence, but that was the welfare system of the day. His life was full of disappointment. Most people walked on past and gave him nothing. "I gave at the office." But he kept trying, and when he saw Peter and John heading into the temple, he asked them for some money.
(Acts 3:4–8 NKJV) And fixing his eyes on him, with John, Peter said, "Look at us." So he gave them his attention, expecting to receive something from them. Then Peter said, "Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk." And he took him by the right hand and lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. So he, leaping up, stood and walked and entered the temple with them—walking, leaping, and praising God.
That man thought he needed money, but God knew what he really needed. He could now work and earn wages. Give a man a fish, and he will eat for a day. Teach a man to depend on God, and he will eat for eternity.
God has no shortages. Do you really think He put us here for such a time as this to not equip us with everything we need? Nay, I say. But what we need might come in a different package than what we are expecting. Every generation has a new set of worries to accompany it. Like when Moses needed to find a way to feed a few million people in the wilderness:
(Numbers 11:13–15 NKJV) Where am I to get meat to give to all these people? For they weep all over me, saying, 'Give us meat, that we may eat.' I am not able to bear all these people alone, because the burden is too heavy for me. If You treat me like this, please kill me here and now..."
The Lord provided quail waist-deep around their camp until it was coming out of their nostrils. When Jesus wanted to feed the multitudes, His disciples thought He had lost His mind:
(Mark 8:4 NASB) And His disciples answered Him, "Where will anyone be able to find enough bread here in this desolate place to satisfy these people?"
He gave thanks and began breaking up the few loaves of bread they had and fed thousands of people. There was more than enough. Once, when Jesus was done using Peter's fishing boat as a pulpit to speak from, He told Peter to go into the deep water and let down his nets for his reward. After fishing all night and catching nothing, Peter thought this was a bad idea:
(Luke 5:4–7 NKJV) When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, "Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch." But Simon answered and said to Him, "Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net." And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking. So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink.
The Peter-John Fish Company hit the jackpot that day and went from being tired and broke to instant abundance. They pulled in so many fish that their net was breaking, and their boats were beginning to sink. Another time, when Jesus and Peter came to Capernaum, they were asked to pay a temple tax. So Jesus told Peter to go fishing again:
(Matthew 17:27 NKJV) Nevertheless, lest we offend them, go to the sea, cast in a hook, and take the fish that comes up first. And when you have opened its mouth, you will find a piece of money; take that and give it to them for Me and you."
We have more wants and worries than actual needs today. We worry about things beyond our control. We stack on what may happen tomorrow and try to solve it today. Jesus warned us not to do that. Is it surprising that it affects us negatively when we do?
(Matthew 6:31–34 NASB) "Do not worry then, saying, 'What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What will we wear for clothing?' "For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. "So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."
You can pray this with me if you like:
Prayer: Heavenly Father, please help me focus on You and let go of fixing things I cannot change. Please give me the grace to get through this life and do the things that You have given me to do here. Help me love others as You love them. In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen!