We all have needs. Some we can handle, others are beyond our means. The question we all struggle with is how we will be able to meet those needs. I’ve got your answer!
Sometimes we can’t see what we really need because of what we think we need.
Two people I know have sons with substance abuse issues. The first one’s son thinks he needs money for legal fees, money to repair his truck, and money for a place to live. He doesn’t. He actually needs what the second person’s son has. The second son came to the point in his life where he knew he needed help with his addiction and found it. Thankfully, he found it in a life-changing relationship with Jesus Christ that broke his addiction and completely changed him. Now the second son has a growing faith, consistent work, a reliable income and hope for the future – a future that doesn’t involve addiction. THAT, my friend, is also what the first son needs; because as long as his addictions are ruling his life the money that comes in for legal fees, truck repairs and housing probably won’t get spent on any of those things.
Today’s verse says YOUR FATHER IN HEAVEN KNOWS MUCH BETTER THAN YOU DO HOW TO GIVE GOOD THINGS TO HIS CHILDREN
Your Father in heaven loves you with an everlasting love that is beyond all possible comprehension. He wants to show you that love in ways that will have massive and eternal impact. He knows much better that we do how to give us good things. But there’s a problem. Much like the first son, we don’t always see what we really need. Some of us think we have everything we need, and are relying on our own skills, abilities and resources. Others of us are struggling to even make ends meet, have bills that are regularly paid late, and live from paycheck to paycheck.
Whether you’re living in the place of plenty or keep running out of money before you run out of month it can be very hard to recognize the good things that God is giving you. They meet our REAL needs, but we may not always see them as the “good things” we need. Sometimes the things we think are good get in the way of the things that really ARE good. When we focus on those things, we reveal our prideful nature.
I’m reminded of the little girl who received a watch and perfume for her birthday. She was so excited she pestered everyone all day to listen to the ticking of her watch and smell her perfume. At dinner her mother said, “Honey, I know you’re excited about your gifts, but please don’t mention them while we eat.” All through dinner she sat silently — although she sniffed audibly at times and often raised her wrist to listen to her watch. As the meal came to an end, she blurted out, “I’m not supposed to mention it, but if anyone hears anything or smells anything, it’s me.”
When we’re “excited about our gifts” and define those gifts as the things we HAVE, we tend to miss the point as much as the little girl. Often, the gifts that God gives us come disguised as opportunities to share, to give away and to grow in faith.
YOUR FATHER IN HEAVEN KNOWS MUCH BETTER THAN YOU DO HOW TO GIVE GOOD THINGS TO HIS CHILDREN, and He does so. He gives us His gifts — salvation, faith, grace. He gives wisdom, finances, leadership ability, generosity, miracles and so much more. The “gifts” that God gives us ought to excite us. The Giver of All Good Gifts tells us, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.”
He who supplies seed to the farmer and bread for food will supply and multiply your store of seed and will increase the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way to be generous on every occasion, so that your giving will produce thanksgiving to God.
GIVING produces thanksgiving — in us and in others. Sir Winston Churchill said, “We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give.”
Everything God gives us can be given to others. As we are faithful channels of His blessing, He continues to pour His gifts into us. I think it was JL Kraft, the founder of Kraft Foods and a devout follower of Jesus, who was once asked, “How are you able to give so much and still have so much?” “Well,” he replied, “as I shovel out, the Lord shovels in. And He has a bigger shovel than I have.”
Sometimes we can’t see what we really need because of what we think we need. What we need is the faith to give more.
