Do You Know What You Need?
Do you know what you need?
I can tell you better what I want more than what I need. I want a big piece of chocolate cake without reaping the consequences. I want my kids to be obedient without giving me a hard time. I want to work less, sleep in and go on vacation more. The same goes for my kids. I ask are you hungry, do you want something to eat? Ten minutes later they tell me they’re hungry. I’ve learned over the years don’t do what they say, do what they need.
What I need? That’s a different story. I know I need to be discipline even though I don’t want to. If I wasn’t disciplined I would eat whatever I wanted, let time go by and never get anything done.
Not knowing what we need is apart of most of our stories.
Did you know in America there are over 52,000 Self-Storage units? That means despite the 65% of Americans who already have garages to store ‘stuff,’ there’s an additional 21 extra feet to store more ‘stuff.’
In a study of overeating rats, Scientists examined their eating habits and their reward system (dopamine receptors). What they found was once the rats started down the path of overeating it drove them towards a dysfunctional reward system. In order to feel the ‘reward’ or satisfaction of eating they had to eat more in order to feel the ‘reward,’ which led them to their downfall.
Give me what I need not what I want.
One story in the Bible reminds me of what happens when we look within and seek God for provision instead of relying on ourselves or the world to rescue us.
In 2 Kings, a widow who was in financial trouble came to Elisha who her husband had worked for. She tells Elisha of her troubles, how creditors are looking for her. Elisha asks her, “How can I help you? Tell me, what do you have in your house? (2 Kings 4:2). She tells him I don’t have anything except a small jar of oil.
Elisha then tells her go to your neighbors and ask for jars, bring them back to your house, shut the door, pour the oil into all the jars and put them to the side (2 Kings 4:4).
“She left him and shut the door behind her and her sons. They brought the jars to her and she kept pouring until they were full” (2 Kings 4:5).
3 Lessons from the Heart:
Three important lessons can be learned from this message.
1. She Chose Wisdom. Out of desperation, the widow who was in fear of losing her two sons to the creditor as slaves, turned towards Elisha, a man of wisdom. As a widow she was in a desperate situation, no husband, no way to financially provide for her sons, she chose to seek counsel of a wise man (Elisha) instead of acting out her fear.
2. God Provided. Elisha asked, “What do you have?” When the widow came to Elisha, he didn’t immediately dive in to rescue her by giving her what she needed, he pointed her to look within to see what she already had. As Christians we are called to love others, but we also can be guilty of taking over the role as the Savior and rescue people from their situations instead of helping them gain the skills they need to do for themselves. There comes a time when helping helps and when helping hurts. Elisha didn’t create a cycle of dependency, he gave her the skills to utilize the resources she already had.
3. God Multiplied. The oil never stopped flowing until all the jars were filled. God used what she had and made it plentiful, into more than she needed. Elisha said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debts. You and your sons can live on what is left. (2 Kings 4:7). The jar plan Elisha told her, sounded kind of crazy. But she trusted and obeyed and God multiplied what she had.
How Amazing is our God?
One thing the widow did that makes an impression on my heart is how she embraced the suffering. She was dealing with the grief of her husband, having to be the primary breadwinner/caretaker of her sons and deal with everything on her own. She didn’t throw her hands up, say ‘I give up,’ and let her sons be sold as slaves.
When she pursued wisdom and embraced the suffering, it drastically changed her situation.
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What do you need?
Looking at our world, there is an epidemic of brokenness. A world that turns towards crime, drugs, prostitution, eating, hoarding to fill a void of something we all desperately need–LOVE.
We can have everything taken from us but if we still have love, we have everything we need. Things and stuff can be replaced but the love from others cannot.
God’s love is the solution to brokenness.
God’s love has the power to mend and provide in ways this world can never do.
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Do you need Love? Leave a comment below how can I pray for you?
The best way to receive love is to give it. Who can you love on? A widow, a person who needs groceries, a parent who could use a date night? Every small act of kindness makes an impact in someone else’s life.
Prayer- Dear Lord, Give me what I need, not what I want. When I ask for what I want, it makes me dependent upon worldly things that leaves me only wanting more temporary rewards. I need you Lord. I want you God. You are my Maker, my Lord who knows what I need. Help me seek you, stay focused on you so you can give me the desires of my heart. Help me be like the widow, who chose wisdom, had faith and trusted in you Lord and allowed you to lead her Lord. I thank you and praise you for who you are. In Jesus name, Amen.
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