Receiving the Riches of Christ
“What do you need right now?” My mind drew a blank nearly every time a person asked that question as I stared at the face of loss and death two times over. My first thought, an inner cry that only made its way to my lips but a few times, was: “I need my daughters back. I need them alive in my arms. I need what you cannot give.” Beyond that, I didn’t really know. “My God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:19
So what does Paul mean when he says that God will supply all your needs when it seems like what you need the most cannot be given back on this side of heaven? It’s easy to read this verse alone and think only of our understanding of needs, but Paul is saying this in the context of a greater story.
He has just spent the previous 18 verses of this chapter speaking of the reasons we have to rejoice in Christ, in whose His power we are enabled to be content in every season of life—difficult or easy, prosperous or wanting—and how God’s people had been providing for his physical needs. It is after all of this that he says with conviction, “And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”
The God who met Paul both in the valley and on the mountaintop, the God who was His sustaining power, meeting His spiritual and physical needs, is the same God who will meet the needs of all of His people. “My God will supply all of your needs.” Paul is reminding the church of the precious promises given to each one of them—not exclusive to him alone, but available and accessible to each person who follows Christ.
I am struck by Paul’s word when he speaks of the body of believers being a part of God’s provision for Him, a part of God meeting his needs. Christ ministers to our hearts in our places of need and provides people to be a part of that provision. In my own journey of loss and grief, though I had no idea what needs to express to those asking to help, God allowed people to show up and minister to my husband and I in ways I didn’t even know we needed. Whether it was a meal, a cup of coffee, a timely verse, a card, or someone just sitting with me in my tears, God used the body of believers to be a part of providing for my needs on this journey of loss.
I often wanted God to meet different perceived needs, or wanted different people to show up along the way. But as God opened my eyes to see that He knew what I needed, and that He wanted to provide for my needs, I learned to trust Him more and receive His sweet provision along the way. His provision along the road of grief has been what has enabled me to know Him more, to heal, to grow, and to be a part of His provision for others.
When Paul says that God will supply all of our needs, he is showing us that this provision is connected to the great riches and glory of our heavenly Father who loves His children with an everlasting love.
It is easy to think of all the things we don’t have that we think we need and miss the ways God has already provided. It is easy to decide who should be tangible expressions of God’s provision, and miss the new people that God may place in our lives for such a time as this—people uniquely positioned to meet specific needs we perhaps didn’t even know we had. It is easy to believe when sorrow is deep that there is no way His riches and glory could make a mark in the darkness.
He wants to enter into our pain, show us His great love, and remind us of His faithfulness to meet all of our needs, both the ones we see and the ones we don’t. He wants us to know that that He walks with us and will provide everything we need to be able to walk this journey of grief. I have seen Him do it for me over and over, and I’m reminded afresh that, though my circumstances have changed, He still wants to meet my needs today, knowing better than I what those needs are. Will I open my hands to receive the riches He has to give through His presence, His Word, and His people?
Will you and I say, “Jesus, You are my great provider. I don’t know how You will meet these needs that overwhelm me, but I trust You. I trust that You can and will meet all my needs. Thank You for the richness of Your provision that includes things I can see and things that I can’t possible fathom.”
- Lindsey
Hope Mom to Sophie and Dasah
Hi! I’m Lindsey. I live in Orlando, Florida with my stud of a husband Kevin. We have 3 incredible children, Sophie and Dasah who now live with Jesus and Jaden who came into our lives through adoption. We have a very energetic golden retriever and love living in the sunshine state. I get to spend my days loving on my son, investing my life in college students here through a non-profit organization we’re a part of and when I have time, writing on my blog about the hope that doesn’t disappoint!
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