GOD WILL MEET ALL YOUR NEEDS
My God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus
(Philippians 4:19)
The Bible is full of precious promises of God. We need to know them, believe them and receive the blessings that are contained in them. Otherwise we will lose those blessings. The promise in Philippians 4:19 is probably one of the greatest promises in the Bible. It is so all encompassing almost any other promise will fit under its umbrella. This verse says that God will meet all our needs. This verse can be divided into 5 parts and each of them teaches us profound lessons concerning the provisions of God in our lives.
- THE SOURCE OF OUR BLESSINGS
First of all, Paul identifies the source of our provision. He says, “My GOD will meet all your need.” Paul had a personal relationship with God. This promise is only made to those who can truly say, “He is my God.” This echoed what David said in Psalm 23, `The Lord is MY shepherd. I shall not want.’ If you have personal relationship with Jesus Christ, you can claim the blessings in this promise. God is very aware of all the needs you have -financial, mental, physical, health, relational. And He's a caring, consistent, capable Father. We must always see Him as the source of our blessings. The Bible says, `Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights’ (James 1:17). Psalmist says, `I lift up my eyes to the hills- where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth’ (Psalm 121:1). Keep your eyes fixed on Him (Heb. 12:1) for all your provisions.
You need to ask, `Who is my God?’ Is it the job or business that you are doing? Is it your bank balance? Is it some person, employer, sponsor or a friend abroad? If you can answer that Jesus Christ is your God,’ then you can know that He will meet your every need. The Philippians were serving the Lord giving tithes and offering out of their needs. They acknowledged that God is the source of all blessings and gave sacrificially to the expansion of God’s kingdom.
- THE SURENESS OF OUR BLESSINGS
Next we see the surety of our supply in the words, “My God WILL MEET all your needs.” Consider the definiteness of the promise. The word “will” is too definite for us to ever be let down. God does everything beautiful in his time (Eccl. 3:11). We must know that our timetable is not always God’s timetable. He knows what is best and is always on time. The word “supply” means to “fulfill,” or to “fill full.” This is the same word that is used in verse 18, where Paul said, “I am full.” So even if our need is like a giant empty vessel, God’s supply fills it to the brim. What a promise!
God supplied the need of Elijah during the time of famine through ravens and a widow (I Kings 17: 4, 9) when he obeyed God’s word and went to the place where God directed. God revealed himself as `Jehovah Jireh’ to Abraham when he obeyed His word implicitly and unquestioningly. Since he was in the right place, God supplied his need at the right time (Gen. 22:13, 14). Hudson Taylor said, `God’s work done in God’s way in God’s time shall never lack God’s supply.’ This is true in every aspect of our lives if we do things in God’s way. The promise is absolutely certain, no matter how God fulfills it.
III. THE SCOPE OF OUR BLESSINGS
Thirdly Paul points out the scope and sufficiency of God’s provision when he writes, “My God will meet all your needs.” This includes everything. It is not some of your need but all of your needs. So this is a great promise of abundant provision. The presence of need in our lives is obvious. Each of us is full of needs. We have needs of body, needs of mind, needs of heart, and needs of spirit. God is interested in every area of our lives. He promises to meet all our needs. When considering such a promise, it is necessary to distinguish carefully between our needs and our greed. God promises here to meet all your legitimate needs and not your greeds. This promise is not for those who goof off and are lazy. God expects you to work. This is not an invitation to set around with folded hands and say, "I just trust the Lord to provide." We must work hard and depend on God at the same time. The Bible says, `the young lions shall suffer hunger but those who seek the Lord shall lack no good thing’ (Psalm 34:10). Paul writes, `He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us ALL Things?’ (Romans 8:32). Isn't that wonderful?
- THE STANDARD OF HIS BLESSINGS
Fourthly, this verse points out the standard of God’s provision. “My God will meet all our needs according to His glorious riches,” Practically, this means that it is not possible for us to have a need that is too great for God to supply. Paul’s letters will reveal us how fond he was of the word “riches.” In Romans 2:4, he spoke of “the riches of God’s goodness.” In Roman 11:33, he wrote of “the riches of His wisdom.” In Ephesians 1:7, he mentioned “the riches of His grace.” Ephesians 1:18 refers to “the riches of His glory.” When the prodigal son came to his senses, he remembered that there was “enough and to spare” in his father’s house (Luke 15:17). The word “enough” reveals how much is laid up for us in our Father’s house, and the additional words, “and to spare,” point out how God delights to give- up to the limit of our need, and a bit more! When we think of God’s wealth, we tend to echo the words of the Queen of Sheba who came to Jerusalem to see the renowned wealth of King Solomon for herself. After she had witnessed his vast wealth with her own eyes, she sighed, “The half was not told me.” The one greater than Solomon is with us (Matt. 12:42)!
- THE STOREHOUSE OF HIS BLESSINGS
Fifth, the text reveals the storehouse in which our provision is kept, and from which it comes. “My God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” All of God’s provisions of grace are “packaged up” for us in Christ, and they come to us through Christ. The source is in Christ Jesus, and the supply is by Christ Jesus.
We have all the fullness in Christ (Col. 2:3). In Him are the treasures of wisdom and Knowledge (Col. 2:3). Paul says that we are blessed with all heavenly blessings in Christ Jesus (Eph. 1:3). Everything, literally everything, God has for us is in Christ Jesus. Here is God’s plenty; here is grace truly abounding. All the promises are ours when we receive Jesus Christ as our Lord and savior. We have salvation in Jesus Christ (Acts 4:12). We have security in Jesus Christ (Rom.8:35-39). We have all the supply in Jesus Christ (Phil. 4:19)! Receive the Lord Jesus Christ in your heart and tap all His blessings by obeying His word and remaining in the center of His will! May God bless you!
