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"For the Lord God is a sun and shield;
The Lord will give grace and glory;
No good thing will He withhold
From those who walk uprightly."
(Psalm 84:11)
I love this verse. What a wonderful promise in the Word of God to the child of God from the heart of God. "This is our God, this is who He is, He loves us. This is our God, this is who He is, He saves us. He bore the cross, beat the grave, let heaven and earth proclaim, this is our God, King Jesus." (From Phil Wickham's song, "This is Our God".)
Pastor Charles Stanley preached that God is interested in our needs and can meet our needs. He fulfills His promises. If we have a need, we know where to go. He said that if we have a need and it is not being met, then the issue is not with God; rather, it is with us. He goes on to share what he believes are mistakes we make on this issue of God meeting our needs:
- Mistaking our desires for our needs. God meets needs, according to Philippians 4:19, by Christ Jesus. God meets the needs that contribute to making us the people He wants us to be. In Matthew 6:8, Jesus said, "Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him." Stanley prays, "Father, this is what I think I need; if it is not, please take it away." When we ask God to show us if our request is a need or a want, He will. We want to pressure God to meet our wants and desires, but we should distinguish between those and actual needs. If you are honest in asking God to show you the difference, He will show you.
- Taking Scripture out of context. We cannot twist the Word of God and try to make it say something that it does not say. The last part of Philippians 4:19 is the critical part of the verse, "in Christ Jesus." This phrase is in all of Paul's epistles. I love that. In Proverbs 3:5-6, we may claim that God will direct our paths. But the key is, we have to do the first part: trust in the LORD, lean not on our own understanding, and in all of our ways acknowledge Him. After we do what God tells us to do, then we can claim the promise that He will direct our paths.
Stanley spent a good bit of time addressing the question: why am I not getting my needs met? God can, He has the power, so why not meet my needs? Stanley answered the question this way: you cannot live in sin and expect Him to meet your needs. If you live disobediently, and God says, "I see your sin," and meets all your needs anyway, that will mean that God is affirming your error or sin. He will not ignore your sin and meet all your needs anyway.
Psalm 84:11 says that God will not withhold any good thing from us when we walk with Him in an upright manner. To walk uprightly means to walk straight, to live your life in a way that pleases God. How is your walk with God? Are you giving Him your all and walking by faith in a manner pleasing to Him? I pray that you will walk with God in such a way that every good thing He has for you will be poured out in your life so that you will be greatly blessed.
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