And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:19
The One Step Daily Devotional is intended to provide just one step each day for your journey with God. Every journey requires water breaks. Here is a water break for you.
When I survey my life, I have found myself in seasons or conditions of lack. When there have been things that I have needed, I have looked around me, and found nothing. I needed something, but it wasn’t there for me. Yet, God promises through His Word that He provides for me what I need according to His riches and glory in Christ Jesus.
Interestingly, Paul wrote these words in Philippians 4:19 from prison.* Arguably, one could say that Paul did not have what he needed at the time of this writing: freedom. Conspicuously missing from Paul’s admonishment, however, is any talk of timing.* I can almost hear Paul saying, “God will supply all of your needs, but in His timing, not ours… though He is never late.”
When Paul wrote these words, they were in response to the kindness that the Church in Philippi showed him.* It was a generosity that, because Paul was in prison, he could not return.* Thus, Paul is saying, “because I cannot show goodness to you to meet your needs as you have met mine, God will take care of you with His eternal means!”
Also worth noting, Paul intentionally uses the word “needs.”* Scholars suggest that the needs that Paul refers to may include needs of a broader sense (such as spiritual needs), but one cannot deny that he includes physical needs in what God will supply.* Before we get too excited about all the needs that we can think of for God to supply, at the time of this text, the New Testament understanding of needs included merely food and clothing.* In our society today, we are convinced that our needs include much, much more than that.
As I look back at my life, I cannot deny the goodness, provision, guidance, and love of God. As I look back at my life, if I am honest, I can see that much of what I needed was really nothing more than what I wanted. This comes as no surprise to me as I awaken more and more everyday to the reality that our culture is bent toward consumption and meeting perceived needs instantly.
Paul’s words are not intended to put us on a pseudo-Christian path toward comfort and ease. The Christian life is a life that follows Jesus; this life is not void of difficulty and suffering.* It is a life, however, that allows us to turn to God, whose wealth is eternal, and have every need met.*
I don’t always know what I need, and I don’t always know the right timing, but I do know the God who knows and can and wants to do something about it.
How do I know that He wants to do something about it? Paul finishes this glorious promise with “in Christ Jesus.” The goodness that God shows us in meeting our needs is not according to our own efforts, but it is according to the work of Jesus Christ.* The work of Jesus Christ is something that God initiated, God empowered, and God fulfilled… because He loves us… and eternal salvation was our greatest need.
Thank the Lord for that.
Today, take a step.
Maybe today the one step God wants you to take is to take a deep breath of trust that He will meet your needs. Perhaps today God wants you to release your wants. Maybe today God wants you to allow Him to be your provider.
Whatever the step, ask God to direct it. Take a moment to take that step. Invite Him to speak. He will.
Life is a long road. Walk it with Jesus. Take a water break… we all get thirsty.
Feel free to comment at the bottom of this page! We would love to hear from you!
*Fee, G. D. (1999). Philippians (Vol. 11, pp. 192–193). IVP Academic.
Thielman, F. (1995). Philippians (p. 238). Zondervan Publishing House.
Hawthorne, G. F. (2004). Philippians (Vol. 43, pp. 273–274). Word, Incorporated.
Garland, D. E. (2006). Philippians. In T. Longman III (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Ephesians–Philemon (Revised Edition) (Vol. 12, pp. 259–260). Zondervan.
Silva, M. (2005). Philippians (2nd ed., p. 209). Baker Academic.
Hansen, G. W. (2009). The Letter to the Philippians (pp. 324–327). William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.
Keown, M. J. (2017). Philippians (Vol. 2, pp. 447–453). Lexham Press.