THERE WILL ALWAYS be needs in our lives to meet—this is who we are, and this is where we are.
Our needs come from various sources.
THERE ARE NEEDS that we create ourselves, especially when we make bad decisions.
When the prodigal son collected his inheritance and left home, he ended up in the hog pen—and created a need that he could not meet.
He had to return home to ask for forgiveness.
"Father, I have done a terrible wrong in God's sight and in your sight too. I have forfeited any right to be treated as your son." (Luke 15:11-32)
OTHER PEOPLE create genuine needs in our lives.
When Joseph's siblings sold him into slavery, they created uncertainties—and exposed him to a difficult life.
But everywhere he went, Joseph continued to give his best. There was something about his understanding of God that made him live in a certain way—and this led to his recognition. (Genesis 41:41-46)
THERE ARE NEEDS that God creates in our lives.
When God said to Satan, "Have you thought about my servant Job? No one in the world is like him! He is a man of integrity: He is decent, he fears God, and he stays away from evil," he made Job vulnerable. (Job 1:8)
And Job had to go where he hadn't been to have a better understanding of God.
Sometimes, God causes his children to face challenges to reveal their hearts.
Adversity does not build character; it reveals it.
THERE ARE NEEDS you inherit from your childhood.
Someone may have talked you down, bullied or berated you—and handed emotions over to you.
Adversity does not build character; it reveals it
You may have suffered one form of abuse or another and built a coping mechanism to protect yourself.
You might deny your situation or refuse to take ownership where you're responsible and project the blame on someone else.
You can also continue to lie to please others and comply to avoid conflicts and conform to get accepted, forgetting that conflicts are needed.
If you're suffering any of this, pray to God to show you the real cause, help you deal with the pain and heal the hurts.
Jabez inherited a name that caused him pain. He came to terms with it and cried out to God.
"Please bless me and extend my territory. Let Your hand be with me and guard me from harm, so I will not experience pain as my mother did." (1 Chronicle 4:10)
God granted his request.
UNCERTAINTY surrounds every need—and when the demand grows, it triggers anxiety.
But worry is a sign of unbelief, and it's a sin.
What do you do?
"Don't be pulled in different directions or worried about a thing. Be saturated in prayer throughout each day, offering your faith-filled requests before God with overflowing gratitude. Tell him every detail of your life, then God's wonderful peace that transcends human understanding will make the answers known to you through Jesus Christ." (Philippians 4:6-7)
Knowing how your thoughts pattern your life is empowering.
Paul teaches us how to train our minds employing a series of attitudes:
Keep your thoughts continually fixed on authentic and real truths—the truth in God's Word.
Honourable and admirable—do the dignified and noble refusing the ignoble.
Beautiful and respectful—morally lovely.
Pure and holy—celebrate clean thoughts and build a mindset that encourages it.
Merciful and kind.
Fasten your thoughts on these glorious works of God. (Philippians 4:8-9)
BRINGING IT TOGETHER
HOW WILL YOU KNOW HOW to author your life without experiencing the good, the bad and the ugly.
Your situation may not be perfect, but you'll have peace when you walk with God.
And anything you do not have today; you will be wealthy of it tomorrow.
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