by Janella Schnepp

Created on: October 19, 2009

"And my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Jesus Christ." Phil. 4:19

This is a dangerous verse which easily lends itself to misunderstanding and misinterpretation. We are temporal beings and see things with temporal vision. There exists a serious danger when we take our temporal wisdom and attempt to apply it to anything of a spiritual nature.

There are five components to this verse. There is the component of who is doing something, who is receiving something, what is being given and to what degree, and the purpose for the action. Most of this will be obvious and make perfect sense. However, one element - the most significant element will take a bit more work to completely understand and accept.

As always is the case, God is acting in this verse. He is giving, yet again. We are receiving, and it is important for us to fully understand what we are receiving.

He is the God of the universe and He is providing for us "according to His riches." The book of Psalms says that the cattle on a thousand hills are His. The earth is His footstool. This is God here. He wants for nothing. And He provides for us because of Jesus and His glory.

So that's the easy part. Now, the challenge begins. Now, it's time to really look at the word of God and understand what He's saying, not what we want to hear or understand.

The concept of a God of prosperity is a misnomer. God is not Santa Claus. We can't just walk up to Him, sit on His lap, and say we want something. That's not how it works.

The verse doesn't say that God will give us everything that we want. God clearly states in this verse that He will give us everything that we need. Okay. So who gets to determine what we need?

The answer requires that we once again peruse the verse and remind ourselves who is doing the giving. God is giving us something. He is supplying all our needs. Jeremiah 29:11 says, "I know the plans I have for you," saith the Lord. "Plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans for a hope and a future." If He knows the plans that He has for us then it stands to reason that He knows our every need. And how much better prepared He is to supply those needs if He knows what they are.

Psalm 37:4 indicates how we allow and accept God's will for our lives. It says, "Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of you heart."

Tread lightly. Remember that God is not Santa Claus. Crawling up in His lap with a list of desired things isn't really an option.

When we align our will with God's will, He works our hearts over anew. The old ways of thinking and of doing things will vanish and what is left is His work of salvation perfected in us.

Through prayer, bible study and earnestly seeking the Lord's will will help to safeguard from the prosperity mentality that has ruled for ages. When we understand that God's goal is to fit us for Heaven and for us to be busy bringing the lost into the fold, our entire perspective changes. Life becomes not so much about what we can get as much as what we can do for God.

To view Philippians 4:19 as anything less than a promise to provide for our actual needs here on this earth - food, clothing and shelter - and to ensure our salvation when we knit ourselves so completely and closely together with God is to put a carnal spin to a very spiritual concept.

God promises to supply all our needs. But in the end, what He determines we need and what we determine we need may very well be two totally different things. And in the end, the only thing that really matters is His determination of what it will take to secure our souls for eternity with Him.

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