OUR NEEDS AND THE WILL OF GOD
Our needs and the will of God is an important topic for discussion. The love of God for mankind compels Him to meet the needs of mankind. To meet these needs, God sent His word (Jesus). In fact, the life of Jesus on earth is the epitome of His desire to meet the needs of mankind. “and when He saw the multitude, He was moved with compassion on them because they fainted and they were scattered abroad ….”(Matthew 9:36). Jesus was concerned with the spiritual, emotional and physical needs of mankind.
The more we develop in our walk with God, the more we also become aware of the needs of individuals and the world from the perspective of God. Indeed, Jesus has sent us to meet the needs of the world (John 20:21). I dare say that the whole duty of man on earth is to meet the needs of the world including our own needs (spiritual, emotional and physical needs). Our needs and the will of God for us is dear to God!
Furthermore, the more we get closer to people in the world, the more we become aware of their needs and the more we are compelled by the Holy Spirit to meet those needs. As you get to know the will of God for your life, consider the needs of people around you. It is the will of God that none should perish (2 Peter 3:9). God will always want to use us to meet the needs of the world and we must be open to God on how He wants it to be done.
However, we must be careful not to be driven to meeting the needs of the world to the neglect of the legitimate needs of our families and others close to us. Stated in another way, we should not be led by the needs of the world instead of being led by God in meeting those needs. If we are need-driven, we are likely to become insensitive to the leadership of God. We see in the scriptures that needs were not always the focus of Jesus. “…. great multitudes came to hear Him, and to be healed by Him…. and He withdrew Himself into the wilderness and prayed..” (Luke 5:15). In another instance, Jesus stated “ye have always the poor with you” (Matthew 26:11) because the disciples wanted the precious oil in the alabaster box to be sold and given to the poor. Let us avoid the pressure that comes with being need-driven in our walk with God. We cannot meet all of the world’s needs, however, we must determine which ones God will want us to meet.
In conclusion, it is legitimate and important to be sensitive to the world’s needs but on the other side of the coin, we must be careful not be driven only by the needs of the world. We must determine which ones God will want us to meet!
