Everything You Need

Pecanland Mall, back in the day.

When I was a kid, a candy store opened at Pecanland Mall with rows and rows of those clear, acrylic bins where you swing open the lid, stick in the handy scoop, and shovel your favorite sweets into a plastic bag. Even for a kid whose favorite candy was kind of obscure, like mine, there was everything you wanted, any flavors, colors, or shapes, along the walls of that shop.

I think sometimes we can see life as sort of a candy shop, expecting to fill our little bags with anything and everything we could want: newer cars, nicer homes, better jobs, whatever hobbies, entertainment, food, or trips that catch our eyes. Sure, it may take hard work and some time, it may take some prayer, but we expect all of that to pay off in the end. If we really want something, there’s no reason we can’t have it or achieve it or experience it.

And there are verses and phrases in scripture that (when taken out of their contexts) can reinforce that expectation. After all, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” (Phil 4:13) And, “since we know he hears us when we make our requests, we also know that he will give us what we ask for.” (1 John 5:15)

And, getting back to Hebrews 13, doesn’t it say in verse 21 that God will “give you everything you need” for this life?

Yes and no.

Hebrews does assure us that God will provide “everything you need,” but then it adds the key words, “to do what he wants done.” (13:21, FNV) God has not equipped you for a life of satisfying every craving and scratching every item off the bucket list. God has equipped you for a life of service. Life isn’t a candy store. It’s a mission.

This all comes back to a fundamental truth of the Christian outlook on life: you are not your own, for you were bought with a price (1 Cor 6:19-20). (I heard an author say in an interview once that children are a constant reminder that our lives are not our own, and, boy, did I get what she meant!) Our lives are not given to us simply to seek our own (or our kids') pleasure, goals, and fulfillment. Our lives are for seeking the Kingdom (Matt 6:33), for loving the Lord and our neighbors. That’s God’s will for us. And God will give you everything you need to do what he wants done.

What have you been expecting from God? What leaves you feeling let down by God? Is it something the Lord promised or something you wanted?

How do think about all that you’ve been given in this life? Are your time, resources, skills, and passion for achieving what you want done? Or were they given to you to do what He wants done?

Listen to this week's devotional right here: