September 15, 2008
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Something about Jesus
I’ve been feeling
anxious because I don’t know how we will afford seminary. This year, we
will have to take from our savings. The daughter of my father in me
admonishes me repeatedly how foolish it will be for us to not have any
more “just in case” money… but as I sit with the Lord, I have to
wonder what we’re saving money for but for his purposes. And who but
the Lord will provide when we have need?Paul wrote to the Philippians that, “God will meet all your needs
according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus” (Phil 4:19). The
context of this verse is actually Paul talking about how God will meet
all the Philippians’ needs as a result of their giving to Paul. The
underlying principle, of course, is that in following God, He provides
for our needs with His glorious riches. But what are these riches? Is
it monetary? I want it to be a monetary promise. Perhaps it is. But
perhaps it isn’t too. Perhaps he’s really addressing those real, deep,
hungry needs we have which are far more critical than the material. In
my head, I understand that this truly is more important — but there’s
that fleshly, nagging part of me that just doesn’t know how to survive
without all the material comforts too. What if Sam loses his job? What
if we use all our savings? What if…and the list goes on.Paul says, “I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to
have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and
every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty
or in want (Phil 4:12).” The question is – what is that secret? How do
I learn it too? Is it simply 4:13, “I can do everything through him who
gives me strength.”? Christ. The secret is Christ. Is it not Phil 3:8?
That everything is a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of
knowing Christ Jesus. Something about Jesus. He will meet all my needs
and in Him, I will be content no matter what the circumstances. Lord,
help me understand this secret of You.
Comments (2)
My hubby and I been discovering lately what it means to trust God with our financial (and other) needs that seemed to warrant more worry/concern than we had been giving them – mainly because we knew we had done our due diligence with the parts that were under our control (in addition to praying about the situation). There’s been a freedom in being able to let go of major concerns after doing our part, and anticipating how God would answer that prayer (He has not let us down!) I hope this doesn’t come off sounding glib or dismissive. The details are longer and more personal than can be shared in a comment, so feel free to message me if you want to talk about this more.
Great to hear from you again, Mary Ann! Ah…now this post reminds me of George Mueller and his faithful reliance on God in even the most desperate of money matters (“Great as my trials of faith might have been, I never contracted debt; for I judged, that, if God’s time was come for any enlargement, He would also give the means, and that, until He supplied them, I had quietly to wait His time, and not to act before His time was fully come”). And of early missionary to China Hudson Taylor, one whom others observed to be “a man almost sixty years of age, bearing tremendous burdens, yet absolutely calm and untroubled. … Dwelling in Christ, he drew upon His very being and resources, in the midst of and concerning matters (news of death, lack of funds, riots, or serious trouble) in question. And this he did by an attitude of faith as simple as it was continuous. It was that true ‘abiding’ in John 15′” (Hudson Taylor’s Spiritual Secret).
No easy task, and not one I can claim to have even begun to have fully learned myself. But O! The rest, peace, and assurance we can see in other saints who have. Worthy meditations indeed.