I find that there are a lot of Christians who are frustrated with God because He hasn’t met all of their expectations of Him. I have also felt this frustration and I think it’s a result of our confusion. There’s an incredible verse that says,
”And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:19(NASB)
What an incredible promise! Carefully note the language, specifically in which He did not say, my God shall supply all your desires in Christ Jesus. Needs are something we cannot live without. I have the need to know that I’m loved. I have the need to know that my life matters. I have the need for water, food, and oxygen.
The Bible says that God shall meet all my needs.
I also have some desires. I want to be liked by people. I want a new truck. I want to be accepted by people. I want my children to behave perpetually and consistently. These are examples of desires. Very often, in our circumstances, those desires aren’t met. As a result, we get frustrated with God because we thought He would meet those desires, yet He never promised that He would.
I want to help you by giving you a word picture. Word pictures are very important and I believe they’re even biblical. Jesus’ teachings were filled with word pictures, like when He said, “look at that fig tree over there” or “look at this mustard seed.” Let’s create a word picture with the idea of God meeting our needs. I’ll call it “cake”. Cake is a wonderful thing to enjoy. I like my cake more with icing. In this case, the cake is a representation of my needs and the icing represents all of the circumstances in my life where I have desires.
Now because of the promise of God in Christ Jesus, I always have cake. But I'd also like to have icing.
I’d like my wife to pour love into me every day. I’d like my kids to be perpetually obedient. I’d like more money in my bank account. Sometimes my desires are met and I get icing with my cake. Other times, they aren’t met and I don’t get any icing on my cake. The key is that I will always have my cake and no one or nothing can ever take it away.
The Holy Spirit promises that,
”There is nothing in all creation that will ever be able to separate us from the love of God which is ours through Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 8:39(GNT)
I have my cake and I’d like some icing for it, but if I don’t get it, I know I’ll be just fine. And you’ll be fine too. Trust in Him to be all that He is to fill you with faith in times of need. I pray that will be your experience today as you put your hand in His and let Him meet the deepest needs of your soul, and hopefully, He’ll provide a little icing for you as well.
