Suggested Reading: Philippians 4:10-19
When it was released in theaters, I took my children to see Oz the Great and Powerful, the story of how the Wizard of Oz became the Wizard of Oz. When Oz first arrived in the land of Oz, he discovered that there was a prophecy that a wizard named Oz would fall from the sky and set the people free from the rule of the Wicked Witch. Now, if you've only seen the original Wonderful Wizard of Oz, you already know a couple of things about the story. You know, of course, that he must win somehow, and you know that the wizard is just an ordinary man behind a curtain. But one of the concepts this movie wrestles with is only having an ordinary man when what you think you need is a powerful sorcerer. But, as with much of life, what we need and what we think we need are two very different things.
When it was released in theaters, I took my children to see Oz the Great and Powerful, the story of how the Wizard of Oz became the Wizard of Oz. When Oz first arrived in the land of Oz, he discovered that there was a prophecy that a wizard named Oz would fall from the sky and set the people free from the rule of the Wicked Witch. Now, if you've only seen the original Wonderful Wizard of Oz, you already know a couple of things about the story. You know, of course, that he must win somehow, and you know that the wizard is just an ordinary man behind a curtain. But one of the concepts this movie wrestles with is only having an ordinary man when what you think you need is a powerful sorcerer. But, as with much of life, what we need and what we think we need are two very different things.
Quite frequently in life, we find ourselves in need, in need of financial rescue, in need of relationship repair, in need of skill sets and people to fill holes. Often we find ourselves fixating on a very specific thing we think we need in order to survive the situation: We need $3000, we need a circumstance to teach someone what we're going through, we need someone who can play guitar, we need a banker, we need an electrician to volunteer their time. And we get so focused on that one particular thing we think we need, that we miss other things that could fill the gap of our circumstances.
In Philippians 4:19, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Paul said, And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. (HCSB). Notice, Paul didn't say that God would supply all of the things we think we need, but the very things we do need. Sometimes we get so focused on what we think we need that we miss what God has provided, even though it is right in front of us. So focused on a ladder, we miss the rope waiting to pull us up. So focused on needing a raise, we miss an opportunity to lower our bills. And sometimes we don't really need anything and somehow miss the fact that we survived and thrived without that one thing that we thought was absolutely necessary.
God promised he would meet our needs, but God didn't promise to do it the way we expect or to use our plans to meet those needs. So, if you trust God to meet your needs, but nothing seems to be happening, look around again. God may have provided something unexpected to meet the need, or God might be letting you know that you are just fine without it.
