If you are more than a Need, live like it!

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From the content of many sermons and most of our prayers, the structure and focus of myriad ministries, and the way Christians often behave, you would think human beings are little more than living, breathing, unmet needs.

So much of what we think, talk about, and develop our emotions around, are what we consider to be our personal needs. But there’s much more to being a person than the sum total of our needs! A constant focus on our needs has a draining effect on our lives: “Worry weighs a person down; an encouraging word cheers a person up,” Proverbs 12:25.

Consider this:

  • What would you have to talk to God about other than your needs?
  • What could your relationship with God be centered around other than your needs?
  • What could your energies be directed toward other than your needs?
  • What could your emotions be pointed toward other than your needs?
  • What could your resources be used for other than your needs?
  • What else could you accomplish other than pursuing your needs?

    • I’m not saying taking care of what are legitimate needs are unimportant or inappropriate. I am saying making a life out of pursuing needs isn’t the kind of life God has called us to live.

    The Apostle Paul shows us how to give appropriate attention to meeting our needs, and then how we can move beyond them to a fuller life:

    “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus,” Philippians 4:6-7. In verse 19, Paul adds, “And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.”

    Paul urges us to come before God and tell Him everything we need. But after that, trust Him with our needs! By doing so, God will give us peace so we can move on with living rather than being mired down in worrying.

    Therein lies the problem.

    We may bring our needs to God, but we have a tendency to stop there and wait until God acts, building our anxiety with every passing moment. Instead of …

    Tell God + Trust God = Peace

    … the way we often live is …

    Tell God + Look for Immediate Results + Don’t Move Until God Acts = Worried

    There’s no peace living that way!

    The Apostle Peter makes a clear, simple statement: “Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you,” 1 Peter 5:7. Because we can know that God cares about us, we don’t need to make our needs portable. We can stop dragging them around, and being weighed down by them. We can have peace, and move on to living out a greater purpose for our lives than being bogged down by our needs.

    How much of your “living” does pursuing your needs consume? Do you trust God with your needs, or do you stand around monitoring what He’s doing about them? What more “living” do you have in your life beyond your needs?

    Scotty