He Will Meet All Your Needs

"And my God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:19
This verse has rung true in my life in the past few days. I came to realize a couple of days ago that I have been seeking to fulfill some part of me with the approval of man. As I have gone through the past couple of years or so, I have been so desperately praying that God would send someone my way with whom I could connect on a spiritual level. Looking back I see that He has but it was just not in the ways that I wanted Him to do it. Basically I realized that I have been praying for someone to come into my life that would really say to me, “Justin, you’re doing a great job, keep up the good work.” What it so disgustingly selfish about it is that people have been telling me that, I know that they have been, but it hasn’t satisfied this deep longing in my heart for approval. Really what it comes down to is that in the midst of seeking the approval of man, and trying to prove to myself that I am good, I have been trying to prove to God that I am good.

Good enough for what He has called me to do. God has gotten it through my head that I cannot earn my salvation, my right standing before Him. It has taken some time for Him to break through my thick skull that I also cannot be good enough to do what He has called me to do without Christ. It is only in Him and through Him that I will have everything that I need to accomplish the work that He has for me to do. I will never be able to prove to God that I am good enough for His work. That is what I was trying to do by seeking the approval of man. In a sense it was me trying to say to God, “Look, God, they approve. They see the good work that I am doing. Didn’t you hear what they said? Is that good enough for you?” I was trying to prove myself and that is just not something that I can do. I cannot prove myself to God, but God can approve of me through Christ.

Another aspect of this trying to prove myself has been the presence of fear. Fear that I am not going to be equipped to do the work that God has called me to do. Fear to step up and be who God has called me to be. What foolish and petty thinking. What does the verse above say? It says that God will supply all of our needs. All of them. Not just some of them but all of them. He will supply the strength, knowledge, wisdom, resources, and everything else that I could think of ever needing. I know that I could never do His work on my own, I know that very well, but somewhere along the way I have gotten so sidetracked and focused on my weakness that I have forgotten His strength. I am so glad that I can rely upon Him meeting my needs, not needing to fear that I am not good enough. I am not, but knowing that it is through Christ that those needs are met. Basically what it comes down to is I am seeing how much of a spiritual mess I am and how desperate I am and dependent I am for the presence of God in my life. I need His wisdom, direction, strength, and guidance as I continue to live this life.

As I sit here and try to process through what God has been teaching me, I can’t help but think about you and what needs you may be striving to meet in your own life. You know you’re never going to be able to meet those needs in your own strength. It is only through Christ that those needs are going to be met. If you do find yourself at a place where you are straining and striving and seeing nothing as a result, except more emptiness and failure, I would encourage you to take some time to spend with the God who can and will meet those needs. Take some time to let the Good Shepherd lead you into a pasture of rest and peace and comfort. A place where you will find all of your needs being met.

by Justin Kantonen
originally posted October 2008