… if your son asks for a fish …
Summary: God’s view of our wants and needs doesn’t always match our view of our wants and needs.
Do you ever try and imagine what the whole of humanity looks like from God’s perspective?
Looking back over my own life, I have experienced all kinds of situations. The ones I liked the least were those where I didn’t have enough to eat. As a consequence of those experiences, I get nervous if there is not enough food in the house. My wife finds this funny. She also finds it annoying. When we go anywhere, I have to have enough snack food along that I don’t worry about being hungry.
The reasons for my fears of going hungry are hidden behind the curtain of time. I don’t think I was ever in danger of starving as a kid, but it was rare that we ever had so much food that I felt completely satisfied.
And what about the people who have less than I do? What about those who are hungry today?
From God’s place in heaven, he knows every heart and he knows every hunger pang. He sees each one of us, whether we are one or many.
God knows our situations intimately.
When we talk about worldly things like food, we are confronted by the difference between “needs” and “wants.” How much does the body need? How much does it want?
The CDC made the news recently because they had to revise their children’s growth charts to account for an increase in obesity.* Think about that for a moment. Obesity in young people has become so prevalent that the government had to revise charts that had been in use for decades.
People don’t become obese because they are not getting enough food to eat. People become obese because they are eating what they want to eat, not what they need to eat.
God sees each of our needs. Some of us need more to eat, some need less. All of us “want” what we don’t have.
This brings us to the kind of questions God has to deal with when he answers our prayer. What do we want, and what do we need? Is our “want” a healthy one or a hurtful one? Will giving us what we want bring us closer to God or push us farther away?
All of us need God. Not all of us will admit that, but we all do.
What God gives us is not always what we want unless our wants align with God’s will for us. What God gives us is what we need. Ironically, it is our needs that bring us to our knees and it is when we are on our knees that we can receive what God wants to give us.
The complete passage our quote for today quotes Jesus when he says:
“Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” Luke 11: 11-13 – Knees and Needs
What is the “good gift” that our Heavenly Father wants to give us? Jesus says it is God’s Holy Spirit. In the final analysis, is there anything better?
Application: Don’t wait for our needs to bring us to our knees. Let’s get on our knees and ask God what our needs are.
Food for Thought: What happens when we assume we are right and conclude that God doesn’t understand what is going on?
What happens when we assume we are right and conclude that God doesn’t understand what is going on?
We take God off the throne.
We put God in a box.
We lie to ourselves.
We put ourselves above God.
We make God and His Word lies.
We believe Satan.
T&A,
Well said! Your final line sums it up well. Who are we going to believe? God or Satan?
Good Job Guy’s
Thank you for you devotion. And I agree with the “T/A” response.
If we trust ourselves more than we trust God, we end up on the throne of our lives and pursue our desires rather than His. This may sound like a small matter, but the consequences can be disastrous.
Rich,
It is interesting how disaster comes about. It might be as simple as a wrong turn which at first seems harmless. Only when we realize that our brakes no longer work and the bridge at the bottom of the hill is out do we understand what disaster is ahead.
12-21-2022, What happens when we assume we are right and conclude that God doesn’t understand what is going on?
We cease being obedient servants of the Most High God, and enter into the service of Satan, the ruler of this worldly system with all its flaws.
For the past year and a half my wife and I have dealt with the effects of very serious health issues. This month of December alone, we had 15 doctor appointments, and our calendar for January is filling up quickly. My wife has had two surgeries, doctors are evaluating my heart to determine its condition before they commit to any surgical procedure. We sit in God’s waiting room knowing it will end in His timing.
As the problems of this flesh have gotten worse, our faith has grown in strength. Every single day, we continue our bible studies and during our afternoon walks we share our thoughts regarding Gods sovereignty, and His ways being so very far from our ways. And we close each evening together in prayer. Our faith and confidence in our God has grown as we have embraced His will for our lives rather than doubt His understanding.
Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
Hebrews 11:6 says, “But without faith it is impossible to please him: but he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”
Ron,
Thank you for sharing! Your words provide a beautiful example of living by faith.
There is a saying about the word assume, what happens when I assume, I make an ass out of you and me, however in this case I just make an ass out of myself. Especially after all the bible studies I have attended. If it isn’t clear to me that God already knows what’s going on then I have a lot more studying to do.
Now that I have gotten some years on me, it hurts to get down on my knees, it’s a long way down and a long way back up. I am pretty sure God understands since He is the creator of this body I am in. I know He hears me even when my words are not audible, I know He knows that I am conversing with Him, because He is the only One that can read my mind.
You all stay warm and safe while riding this storm out,..
Thank you, John!
Blessings to you, your family, and your crew!