But my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19
A soldier in an ancient army had intercepted an assassin who was about to kill the emperor. At great risk to his own life, he challenged the assassin and was able to kill him before he could reach the emperor. In gratitude, the emperor called the heroic soldier before him, and offered a reward, asked him to name the amount. To the surprise and concern of those around, the soldier asked for an amount in the millions. One of the generals began to berate the soldier for his brashness. But the emperor stopped him and declared that the soldier had paid him a high compliment. He said, ‘This man has shown how valuable my life is, and how wealthy I am. He shall have his reward.’ Do you and I recognize how great the God is from whom we request that which will supply our needs?
Carefully examine the words of our text, and note that Paul declares God’s response is not ‘out of His riches’ but ‘according to His riches’. God’s riches are surely sufficient to allow Him to dispense to us that which we need regardless of our need. But His giving is not limited by our need but by His wealth. And His supply is not limited by our request but by His generosity and power. The greatness of our God determines the greatness of His supply.
Note again the wording of our text and see that it does not declare that God can supply our need, but that He ‘shall’ supply our need. I well remember a day when I was launching out on a project of my own, wondering whether I would earn enough to make a living. On that same day, God showed me from Psalm 23 that because He is my Shepherd, I shall not want. And He has kept His promise; from that day I have been provided with enough to meet our living requirements with no concerns (albeit with no money to burn, either). We should never doubt that the God who can supply our needs WILL supply our needs. As we bow our heads to give thanks for each meal, we acknowledge that He is keeping His promise hour by hour and day by day.
Once again, note the wording of our text, and see that God’s promise of supply is for our needs, and not our desires. Were we to receive all that we desire, we would be led away by our greed and by our lusts. The God Who knows how much we need also knows how much would be a snare for us. So He wisely withholds from us that which would exceed our abilities to consume without consuming it upon our lusts.
Our God can meet our need, and He will do so. He meets our need because He is a God of limitless supply. -Jim MacIntosh