Wouldn't it be nice if God had created us to not need anything? Think about it.

He could have made our bodies to not wear out, so we wouldn't have health concerns. No more pounding the pavement or sweating on the treadmill. We could eat anything that looked good, and our bodies would keep running perfectly, just like those weight loss commercials promise. How wonderful would that be?

He could have made us all independently wealthy, so we wouldn't have financial worries. We would always have enough money to buy anything we wanted. We could simply spend our way out of every problem we had, with no help from anyone else. Doesn't that sound great?

He could have made us to not need anyone, so we could be content with no relationship worries whatsoever. We could just keep to ourselves and answer to only ourselves. We wouldn't have to deal with relational conflict. Procreation wouldn't require the "assistance" of anyone else. And to top it off, infants would be independent from birth. No more changing diapers! No more babies needing to be cuddled. Wouldn't that be terrific?

You get what I'm saying. It sounds good to say, "Man, I don't need anything." But then carry that to its logical conclusion: If you never had a need, then you'd never have love.

I have two sons. Andrew, our youngest is 16-months old, and WOW! That kid is neeeeeeeeedy! He can hardly do a single thing by himself. He can sleep on his own, eat on his own (sort of), walk on his own (sort of),  and  do a few certain bodily functions on his own. Everything else though is up to us. But, we wouldn't change that for the world. Meeting his needs creates an environment where he can learn what love is all about.

So why did God create us with needs?  In the animal kingdom, it's not uncommon for newborn animals to be completely independent at birth. So, why are we different?

Bill Gillham writes in Lifetime Guarantee:

"The Word teaches us that God is Love and that He loves us (see 1 John 4:9-10). God created humanity with a burning need for love. That's why you are sitting their needing love. If you didn't need love, then you wouldn't need God. In fact, that's why you were created with needs, period. God is the supreme authority figure and has the market cornered on being able to supply all our needs. Thus, He created a bunch of people with a ton of needs. This way, some of us would recognize our need and turn to Him through Jesus to get our needs supplied His way " (page 18).

 

Our Father has a solution for meeting each one of our needs. However, for every need we have, there is counterfeit solution waiting to ensnare us. These counterfeits promise to satisfy our needs, but at best, they provide only temporary relief.  They fall short. These counterfeit techniques for meeting our needs are what Bill and Anabel Gillham refer to as "flesh patterns."

Commercial break: If you haven't yet read Lifetime Guarantee  (or if it's been a long time), then it would be well worth your time to get a copy and go through it. Bill uses lots of ordinary life experiences to talk about the "nuts and bolts" of the Christian life. Everyone says their book will change your life, so I'm afraid to say it that way. However, this book will cause you to see your day-to-day spiritual life differently than you ever have before.

Now where was I? Oh yeah...counterfeit solutions for meeting our needs. Every need we have has a tempting counterfeit. Counterfeits can look and feel amazingly real, but they're deceptive. They promise what they cannot deliver. They may provide temporary satisfaction, but they are usually self-focused and fall way short of the incredible plan God has for meeting our needs.

Do you trust God to meet your needs his way? In His strength, you have the power to turn away from the counterfeits and seek satisfaction in the real thing. We have to admit our needs and see Jesus as the only option for meeting them.

We have do what Jesus said and become like a little needy child. Jesus said, "Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 18:3).
There are many interpretations for this verse, but I think the clearest is that we have to come to Jesus with no pretense, inhibitions,  or self-reliance. Children are not embarrassed by their needs. A child's instinct is to trust. Unless they've learned otherwise, young children believe their parents will meet their needs. They don't spend time worrying about this. As far as I know, my little Andrew doesn't lie awake at night worrying, "Oh no, I sure hope my oatmeal and banana will be waiting for me at breakfast."

Neither should you.

Paul was convinced of this. He wrote, "And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus."





P.S. God could have also created LGI to not have any needs. He could have brought along a single wealthy individual to bankroll the entire ministry operations. Although I may be tempted to get excited about that thought, I realize that God is building our faith together as we trust Him for our daily and monthly needs. It sure makes for a wild ride, doesn't it?