Philippians 4:19: “And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.
We have recently moved our littlest out of his crib and into his big boy bed. I forgot how much I hated starting over in the sleep department, but who am I kidding? He never has slept as well as his siblings so we were still a work in progress. But, as we now start the new fight of keeping him in his bed, I found myself saying the other day, “It’s not about what you want, it’s about what you need,” in response to his wanting to get up for the fortieth time.
That got me thinking. How many of us live our lives striving for what we want instead of what we need? I know that I’m just as guilty of that as our son. I think it’s a natural instinct. I want chips, cookies, and candy, even though I need to stop eating before I get a stomachache. I want to stay up and watch TV with my husband, but I really need to go to bed since 3:30 a.m. comes too early. I want that extra pair of shoes, but I need to have money this month to pay for summer camp. I want to be lazy, but I need to exercise so I have energy to get my work done.
I think its human nature to take the easy road, for our automatic response to be the “easy button.” However, God wants more for us than that. He wants us to look at the big picture. He wants us to live a life of obedience. He wants us, in faith, to turn to Him to supply our needs. He wants us to trust Him and to make decisions that are Biblically based.
So, the next time I am at war with myself about whether or not to have a smorgasbord of food when my stomach only needs a salad, I’m going to remember what I told my son, “It’s not about what I want, it’s about what I need.” Hopefully then I will be at peace that I’m living the life God designed for me, willingly taking care of the wants, trusting God to supply any needs that He desires – maybe even sometimes in the form of a concrete mixer at Culver’s.