I Have Everything I Need!

Do you ever wonder if you have what you need to make it through the day ahead? Early in our marriage, I remember wondering if we would make it to payday without running out of money. Would we have enough for groceries and gas that month? And you know what? We always made it! One month we spent the last $5 dollars in our bank account on a steak dinner out (yes, it was a LOOOOONG time ago!) since we would get paid was the next day!

In fact, the first month that God convicted us about our giving financially to our church, we tithed what was then a HUGE chunk of our paycheck the first of the month. We had no idea how we’d make it without that amount for expenses since we always lived to the penny each month. But you know what? We lived up to the penny that month as well! We never really missed it. God showed us His faithfulness to our obedience.

Now, there were some seasons that were much more sparse than others. There was even an 8 month stint with no income, and somehow, some way, God always provided for us. We stopped trying to figure out a budget during that time because it never made sense. We had nothing coming in, everything we owned was breaking on a daily basis, but somehow we paid our bills and repairs, and always ate meals!

As I’ve spent time mentoring my preteen and young teen grands, one thing I started doing was giving them a verse to memorize and believe. The first one I gave them was Psalm 23:1, “The Lord is my Shepherd, I have everything I need.” I so want them to see how faithful our God is to us. Each week we practice memorizing it so it will be set in their hearts and minds when they face difficulty.

As I was reading this week in the book of Philippians, I came across another assurance of this truth. Paul was talking about how he had learned to be content with a little or a lot. He encouraged the believers in Philippians 4:17, “And my God will supply all your needs according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. Now to our God and Father be glory forever and ever.” He had lived this out in his life, in and out of prison, with and without food and clothing. He wanted the believers in Philippi, as well as us, to understand this truth.

We see this again from Paul in 2 Corinthians 9:8, “And God is able to make every grace overflow to you, so that in every way, always having everything you need, you may excel in every good work.” In this case, Paul is talking to the believers in Corinth about being generous in their giving. He knew if they had a generous heart and their motivation for giving was love for Him, God would provide for their needs…needs, not necessarily wants as some who promote the prosperity gospel of giving to gain more.

Since my husband and I are in our retirement season of life (from work, not from serving Jesus) we could be concerned about the future…how will the economy or our health affect our finances and ability to pay our bills without having to rely on others to support us, especially our daughters?

But, we believe that as long as we give to the Lord, and to others in need, He will provide every single thing we need. When doubts occur, may this always be my prayer:

Lord, may I never doubt Your ability to provide for my every need, even if I give away all I have.

Banner photo by Raphael Rychetsky on Unsplash