The God Who Supplies
“And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:19
This is one of the most misunderstood and misused verses in the Bible. Progressive Theology declares God wants you healthy, wealthy, and wise.
Adherents postulate that gifts given to a certain person or cause will result in blessings from God. That is, He will supply all of the givers need because of the gift. This makes it appear God can be bought off. God does not work on a quid pro quo basis. We don’t give to get. We give because we have been given.
The operative words are need “chreia” and shall supply, “pl?ro?”. We fail to realize the difference between a need and a want. The word translated “needs” comes from the Greek chreia, which means necessity or business. The Greek word translated as “supply”, pléroó, means “to render full, to complete.” He will fully supply your necessity and the business He has trusted you to perform in His kingdom. Nowhere does God imply He will meet our wants.
Notice, though, the verse does not include the word “desires” in the sentence. We may desire good weather while on vacation or a job without conflict, but these do not reflect our needs. Our wants may not align with what He considers best for us—our true needs. Some needs mentioned elsewhere in the Bible include redemption, forgiveness, and justification. He offers to freely provide these needs.
Have you ever thanked God for the foolish wants you had to which He said no? The thing you thought to be a blessing would have turned out to be a burden.
If you have a special need today, focus your full attention on the goodness and greatness of your God rather than on the size of your need. Your need is tiny compared to His ability to meet it. The God who was wise enough to create the universe is loving enough to look after you. What a serene and quiet life we might lead if we learned to trust God as our supply Master.
Faith prompts us to pray, “Giver of Life and all good gifts, grant us also wisdom to use only what we need, courage to trust our bounty, imagination to preserve our resources, determination to deny frivolous excess, and inspiration to sustain through temptation”.
In a certain area of Mexico, there are hot springs and cold springs found side by side. And, because of this convenience and natural miracle, the local women would often bring their laundry, boil their clothes in the hot springs, and rinse them in the cold springs. A tourist watching this procedure commented to his Mexican guide: “They must thank God for generously supplying such an abundance of clean hot and cold water.” “No,” said the guide, “they complain God did not supply the soap.” Is that you or a friend?
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ” (Ephesians 1: 3).
“Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand” (Isaiah 41: 10).
One Hebrew name for God is Yahweh-yir´eh (Jehova jireh) meaning “the God who provides.” He has committed Himself to provide for your needs. The supply is according to “His riches in glory” which are inexhaustible. He really means for you not to worry about your future.