Devotional: Applying the Bible to my today.
Read: Psalm 107
As the waiter passed by the table, my friend said, “Excuse me, Sir; I need a straw please.”
The waiter responded, “You Americans are so ‘needy’.”
Uncomfortable silence. “Can you explain that please?”
The waiter explained that waiting tables was his first job after coming to America, and when someone would say that they “needed” something he felt as if he should run as fast as he could to the back to get it for them because in his country the word need is only used in extreme cases.
My friend did eventually get her straw :).
This encounter happened probably a decade ago, but it often weighs on my mind still today. Every time I hear someone in line proclaim, “I need a cappuccino and a piece of pumpkin bread”, I think to myself, “Really, you need it or do you just desire to have it?” This concept has changed the way we express ourselves in our home – even my 6 year old son will ask me, “Do you need it, Mommy, or do you just want it?” Ouch.
If I can separate needs from desires it improves my level of gratitude because I can see how all my needs are met and how much “extra” God has supplied to meet my desires. For example, how much square footage do we “need” in our lives?… honestly, many people survive without any square footage, so is it really a need? If I ever ask for a larger house, it is not out of need but desire.
When I don’t separate my needs from my desires, I can start to feel sorry for myself and question the presence and the listening ear of God. But He does hear, and He is answering.
- I only need one other companion, but God has given me many.
- I need food for survival, but God has supplied me dessert as well.
- I need to know God’s word and promises, but we don’t have just 1 Bible in our home, we have FOUR!
- I need to know I am valued – He could have just said, “I love you”, but instead He chose to sacrifice everything and die on the cross for me.
- I need forgiveness, but He topped that by giving me restoration.
Many think of “need” as physical things required for survival, but since a beautiful, Heavenly eternity exists – I’m not sure that God sees those things as a need but as a way to feed our hearts and souls through provision of those things… therefore, all real needs seem to lie in the heart and soul. There is a hunger and thirst that is created there. God is willing and ready to supply that need and any desire that resides in that place, and there is NO other way to supply that need except through Jesus Christ. For me, I would have died physically, emotionally and spiritually the last two years had this sustenance not been supplied to me.
God is a God of excessive blessings for all facets of life. May we all be challenged to focus on the truth that Jesus knows about and will supply our every need. Anything we have beyond that is a bonus.
- What are some desires of your heart that you have previously categorized as “needs”? Does it matter to categorize them differently?
- How would you have responded to the comments of the waiter?
- Praise God for the many needs He has met for you today.