Our Daily Bread – New To The Family
Many people fail to enjoy the abundance God has for them because they have an “I’m needy” mind-set. They are constantly afraid they won’t have enough of whatever resources they need. They don’t believe they are strong enough to do what they need to do; they don’t believe they will have enough money to meet their financial obligations; they don’t believe anyone will care for them in their old age.
They are afraid they will lose their jobs and not be able to find another. In fact, most of their thinking may be dominated by fear. They feel they need more friends; they need more love, and they need more energy. People with this “I need, I need, I need” mentality feel deprived spiritually, mentally, physically, financially, and socially. Sometimes people who are plagued by feelings of neediness have truly been needy at some point in their lives. These experiences cause them to be fearful of lack or loss, and that fear causes them to think they will never have enough, so they may even begin to live narrow, stingy lives.
The Great Depression in the 1930s produced an entire generation of people who were terribly fearful of loss and lack. This tragic period in history made an almost irreversible impression on some people, who spent the rest of their lives doing things like saving little pieces of aluminum foil because they remembered times of frightening scarcity, times when what they used could not be replenished. When days of prosperity returned, many people failed to renew the mind-sets they formed during the Depression. Anytime we go through a season of lack, it is easy to become fearful, but it is during those times that we can trust God to meet our needs. If you are in a season of economic downturn right now, I strongly encourage you to realize that it will eventually pass and you will enter a new season. Keep trusting God to help you and boldly expect to prosper in all areas of life. If you need employment, then expect God to favor you when you look for a job.
Some people feel needy because of the conditions or attitudes of the families in which they grew up; others feel needy because of personal experiences in which they suffered loss. All of these circumstances and others cause people to be afraid they will not have enough-and this is not what God wants. He doesn’t want us to live in fear of losing what we have or being without what we need. In fact, I think acting as if God will not meet our needs or doesn’t want us to have our needs met is rather insulting to Him. We should compliment Him by believing He is good and by expecting Him to meet our needs according to the promises in His Word.
Fearing we will not have what we need is exactly what Satan wants. We can open the door to his will through fear just as we can open the door to God’s will through faith.
Throughout my teenage and young adult years, I had to take care of myself. I could not ask my parents for any more than I absolutely had to because of the sexual abuse I was experiencing. If I asked my father for anything, there was always “payback” of some kind demanded, so to avoid that situation I either provided for myself or I did without. This period of time in my life left me with a fear of not having enough, so when I did have anything, I was afraid to use it for fear it would not be there in case of a real emergency. You might say that I lived in great fear. I was afraid I would never have what I needed and even when I did have it, I was afraid to use or enjoy it. Coming to the realization that God delighted in providing for me and that He wanted me to enjoy what He gave me was quite amazing to me and I must admit that it took me a while to be able to develop a new mind-set in this area.
Remember, the mind is the battlefield and Satan loves to put wrong thoughts into our minds, thoughts that are not in agreement with God’s Word, hoping we will meditate on them long enough for them to become reality in our lives. Cast down those wrong thoughts and bring every thought captive into the obedience of Jesus Christ (see 2 Corinthians 10:5). Instead, think of yourself as a child of God, a person God loves and is glad to provide for. Sow good seed by helping others in need, and say things that build within you the image of a person whose needs are met instead of the image of someone who is always needy. Here is a list of things you might consider thinking and saying to yourself:
• All of my needs are met according to God’s riches in Christ Jesus (see Philippians 4:19).
• God blesses me and makes me a blessing to others (see Genesis 12:2).
• I give and it is given unto me, good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over (see Luke 6:38).
• God richly and ceaselessly provides everything for my enjoyment (see 1 Timothy 6:17).
• I serve God and He takes pleasure in my prosperity (see Psalm 35:27).
We receive from God according to our faith so it is vital for us to develop a correct mind-set in the area of God’s provision for us. Don’t settle for lack in your life, but instead expect abundance according to God’s Word.
Think about It
Has being needy at some time in your life developed a fear in you that you will never have enough?
