“And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”
-Philippians 4:19
Paul is in prison. Most likely chained to a roman guard waiting to see Nero. Paul is thanking the Philippians for a gift offering that was sent his way. He has no money to pay them back, but he says, my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.
Paul knew that the Christian rest in the hands of God. The provision of God ought to be the Christian’s anthem. The church needs to be reminded over and over again of God’s ability to provide for them.…A few things to consider.
First, God’s provision may not look like what we expect. If you think about the Israelites being freed out of slavery to immediately wander the wilderness for 40 years. God freed them from slavery but for 40 years he worked to purify their hearts in the desert. Even there, God provided for all of their needs.
But that is the kind of thing they weren’t expecting…. And it was the kind of thing that they needed. You may be in a wilderness scenario in your life but don’t overlook the fact that God has you there. When the Lord brings us to unexpected places it should not challenge our trust in Him, but it should make us turn to Him.
Which is the second thing, God’s provision for us drives us deeper into Him.
Water is precious when we are thirsty. God has a way of training and working our hearts to desire Him above all things, in many ways He does this by taking away our idols. By removing obstacles. In some cases, there is no problem that is being solved in the mystery of your hardships, but rather an example to others of faithfulness in a sinful world. Piper rightly says, God is doing 10,000 things and we are only aware of 3 of them?”
So, in the moments of discomfort guard your heart and set yourself to worship. “Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.” When we are delighting in the Lord, He gives us more clarity and more comfort in Himself. The main point of a life of worship is that we need more God and less of us.
The third thing is that ultimately in Christ, there is no shortage of blessings offered to us. The gospel is the climax of all human existence and in it you are set free from everything you deserve. In it, you are receiving the eternal blessings of everlasting joy in God. This really speaks to the heart struggling with discontentment. How could we see the treasure of Christ for us and the blessings of eternity given to us and still feel that we are lacking. It ought not be. It is because of Christ that we can be thankful truly in all things.
So church, Instead of complaints in the wilderness, let us eat our full of God’s heavenly blessings with joy full of faith. That He is for our good and His glory. Even in sickness, even in death, even in hardship and trials and all this imperfect world has to throw at us, may we as our heart aches remember that it won’t last, it has no victory, and even the perils of joy are flipped upside down to drive us to our Savior.
Our Father in heaven is in the business of giving us good gifts. Let your hearts this morning be reminded that in all of it, you have everything you need in the riches and glory of Christ Jesus.