It is much easier to say that God is everything we need. It is a lot harder to live it, because sometimes, God will test you like He did Job.
What if God says no? What if He takes away your health, wealth, family, friends, and all your blessings? If you have nothing left, is He everything you need?
Of course, we know the answer is yes, Biblically speaking, but there’s another side to this question. Because you can know in theory that God is everything you need, but that doesn’t mean it is true in your heart.
What you believe comes out in your actions.
God said no to me this month. In something that I’d spent a year doing, and at so many intervals it seemed like all the paths led to yes. So many doors opened, so many things were so close to being yes.
But at the last minute, all the doors slammed shut. All the YESes became NOs.
I’d told people that I trusted God, that if it was His Will it would happen. But living that faith is a lot harder when it all comes to pieces.
When God takes it away, am I really content with just Him?
Sometimes we profess He is all we need, but we still cling to other things, other people. And when they are taken away, we cannot say, “The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” Job 1:21 KJV
When we cannot be satisfied with just Him, the problem isn’t with Him. It’s with us.
Know this. You are never alone. He is always with you wherever you go.
“Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.” Ps. 139:7-11 KJV
To be honest, reading that whole Psalm will be a blessing, and you can do that here. And another good verse is this one too.
“…lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” Matthew 28:20b
During my time of testing, I was studying the book of Nahum. There is a lot of death and destruction and doomsaying going on in the book. But there is also a verse I kept coming back to. A verse which reminded me of what I professed to believe.
“The Lord is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him.” Nahum 1:7 KJV
Can I be satisfied with just Him?
#1 He is good. He really is.
Do I feel uncertain and unsure?
#2 He is my stronghold, an unbreakable, impenetrable stronghold.
The only way for something to get past God is if I let it in. Because we do that. We let fear and doubt in. We decide to run ahead of God. And yes, sometimes, God tests our faith but just remember that Job didn’t break.
Just because the waves crash into us does mean we have to break. It doesn’t mean they have to overwhelm us. God was Job’s stronghold. He can be ours too if we let Him.
#3 He knows who trusts in Him.
He knows.
You see the question is never really about God. He is everything we need. The true root of the question is us. Do we count God as everything we need or are we holding on to other things?
God is more than capable. You just have to let Him be your everything.
And so, I’m asking you, really asking you. Is He everything you need?
I’m not asking you to make a public declaration. Although, you certainly may if you wish. I’m asking you to answer this in your heart. Is He your everything?
Hi Dienece, Thank you for sharing your challenging post. It’s really hard when God says No to something we really want. Sometimes the No can seem irrational at the time, especially when He’s saying No to something that’s supposed to be good because it’s a Christian activity, for example. Hindsight is everything. I was recently talking with a friend about how God said No to something—and I can now see very clearly how it was His love and care in action because He protected me from being around people who don’t have my best interests at heart.
How we face challenging situations and manage hardship and suffering will reveal our true character. We all have choices in how we respond.
If we make the mistake of viewing God and our faith as an insurance policy rather than a relationship ie. if we work hard and do good deeds we will be guaranteed blessings in return, for example, we’ll end up in a big mess. Our faith will fall apart if we mistakenly believe that God owes us a good life with no troubles and our faith will flounder if we subscribe to the flawed logic that He has let us down and isn’t living up to his end of the bargain because we deserve to be blessed. I get frustrated when I see this dynamic at play in Christian fiction and will DNF those books. I avoid reading Christian nonfiction that indulges the victim mentality.
Thank you for your comments and encouragements. Yes, it’s hard when the path diverts from what we expected, but you made a good point about not treating God as an insurance policy. Thanks for sharing.
We’re in the middle of a series on Ecclesiastes in church right now, where the writer takes a different approach but makes similar points. I suspect we often fall into the trap of believing God is like a magic genie, always giving us the good things we ask for, but that’s not the story of the Bible at all. In fact, we are promised troubles – but with the accompanying promise that those hard things are for our ultimate good (just like diet and exercise).
That sounds like an excellent study. Thanks for sharing that with us. I really appreciate your encouragement.