You Get What You Need
Posted by Dion Todd March 19th, 2023 2,902 Views 0 Comments
You Get What You Need from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo.
Sometimes disappointment comes from unrealistic expectations, like a fish that wants to fly. Fish simply aren't built for graceful air travel, but they can swim like no one else. Likewise, the Lord has given each of us a gift set and areas of expertise to build up the body of Christ, but too often, we want to be someone else, somewhere else, doing something else. That's when we get into trouble and become disappointed.
(Matthew 6:26 NKJV) Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?
The Lord takes care of the birds of the air. They still have to wake up early and search for it, but He provides what they need within their grasp. He does not give the birds a Cadillac because birds don't need one, do they? They couldn't reach the pedals...
(Matthew 6:28–30 NKJV) "So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?"
The Lord provides for the lilies in the field, but that doesn't include motorcycles. The lily needs to learn to be content without having a suicide machine. As the Apostle Paul told Timothy:
(1 Timothy 6:6–8 NKJV) Now godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content.
You will be provided with what you need to accomplish the task you have been given. His provision comes along with the vision, usually in stages. For example, when a contractor is building a house, the bank doesn't give them all the money upfront but provides periodic draws according to their progress.
The Lord has no shortage of anything. He has an abundance. He created gold. The streets in heaven are paved with it. Aligning ourselves with Him, making what is important to Him important to us, and seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, will bring an abundance of everything we need into our lives. David wrote it this way:
(Psalm 37:25 NASB) I have been young and now I am old, Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken Or his descendants begging bread.
The Lord loves you and has a plan and purpose for your life. We truly don't understand how much He cares for us, or we wouldn't be so fearful.
(Isaiah 1:18–19 NKJV) "Come now, and let us reason together," Says the LORD, "Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool. If you are willing and obedient, You shall eat the good of the land"
We are a leaf on the wind. Here today and gone tomorrow. Naked, we came into this world, and that's how we will go out. There is a reason you don't see U-Haul trucks following a hearse. Everything you see around you is temporary. You can pile it up to the ceiling, but you won't take it with you. The Lord Jesus taught it like this:
(Luke 12:16–21 NASB) And He told them a parable, saying, "The land of a rich man was very productive. "And he began reasoning to himself, saying, 'What shall I do, since I have no place to store my crops?' "Then he said, 'This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 'And I will say to my soul, "Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease, eat, drink and be merry." ' "But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you have prepared?' "So is the man who stores up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God."
The Lord provided an abundant harvest for that man, but sadly, he kept it all for himself and gave God back nothing. He was not rich toward God. Instead of laying up treasure in heaven, he lived in the moment and laid up treasure for himself. He left the Earth poorer than the poorest beggar, and if he made it to heaven, he had no treasure there either.
(Matthew 6:19–21 NKJV) "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."
The man's soul was "required" of him that night. That word means "to demand back." It's as if the man's very soul was on loan from God and had to be returned. Consider that a moment. The man was busy making plans about the future and what he would do tomorrow, and bam, he was standing in eternity naked and afraid. The words of Jesus sum it up well:
(Revelation 3:17–18 NKJV) Because you say, 'I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing'—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked—I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see.
John Wesley said that you should earn as much as you can, save as much as you can, and give as much as you can. Those are words of wisdom. If you look around you, you will find that you are given what is needed. Learn to be content with what the Lord has given you, and remember Him before it is too late.
You can pray this with me if you like:
Prayer: Heavenly Father, I love You and thank You today for all You have given me. Help me see the bigger picture and not get trapped in chasing the wind. I want to be a part of what You are doing on Earth today. So put me where I need to be and speak to me in a clear way that I can understand. In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen!