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I find that it is not easy to depend on the Lord when my needs are many. Can you help?
Your experience is quite common, for we are prone to focus on “our needs” instead of on “the Lord” Who can surely meet every need we have, great or small. As believers we would do well to concentrate on three basic facts concerning the Lord and our needs:
- The Lord KNOWS OUR NEEDS. In Matthew 6:25-31 the Lord Jesus exhorts us not to WORRY about what we will eat, what we will drink, and what we will wear, and He ends on a very positive note in verses 32-33: “For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father KNOWS THAT YOU NEED ALL THESE THINGS. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and ALL THESE THINGS SHALL BE ADDED TO YOU” (NKJV). If we are going to learn “to depend on the Lord when our needs are many,” it is absolutely vital to realize, in our heart of hearts, that our Father knows about each and every one of our needs.
- The Lord CARES ABOUT US AND OUR NEEDS. In 1st Peter 5:6-7 we read, “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He CARES FOR YOU.” We just saw in Matthew 6 that we should not WORRY, which means we shouldn’t be ANXIOUS. Peter encourages us to CAST ALL OF OUR ANXIETIES ON THE LORD! Again, we are prone to fix our eyes on our circumstances instead of on the Lord. Peter himself was keenly aware of his tendency to do this, for you may recall the well-known story of when he was walking on the water to meet the Lord and instead of keeping his eye on the Lord Jesus he began to look at the raging sea (see Matthew 14:22-31). The moment he did this he became anxious and began to sink. And so it is with us, if we focus on the trials in our life instead of on the Lord, we too will panic! To Peter’s credit he did turn to the Lord and cried, “Lord, save me!” And now he bids us to do the same; we are to cast our care upon the Lord, knowing that “He cares for you.” He not only “knows our needs,” He “cares about us and our needs!”
- The Lord CAN MEET OUR NEEDS. In Philippians 4:19 Paul told the saints, “And my God SHALL SUPPLY ALL YOUR NEED according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” We had seen earlier in Matthew 6:33 that if we seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness, “all these things (the NECESSITIES of life) will be added unto you.” Our blessed God and Father is in complete control of our lives and HE IS ABLE TO MEET EVERY NEED that we have. In this precious verse we learn that our needs will be met “according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” Notice, it doesn’t say “OUT of His riches,” but “ACCORDING to His riches,” for the former might imply that God has a limited supply of riches, but the latter teaches us that His supply is unlimited, for it is “in glory by Christ Jesus.” The fact is if we are dependent upon Him, and are giving Him first place in our lives (as we are exhorted to do in Matthew 6:33), we will find that He not only meets our needs, but is pleased to bless us far beyond our needs. (248.1) (DO)