“And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:19, NIV).
At breakfast, my father-in-law was joyfully sharing with me about his very first missions trip, over fifty years ago. He has been working wholeheartedly in ministry ever since, and been instrumental in seeing over 800 churches planted in the Amazon Jungle. He is an amazing man. He smiled as he came to the end of describing his two-month journey preaching the gospel in many villages of the Andes.
He concluded, “At the end of the trip, I opened up my little suitcase. I expected my money to be almost gone. I had covered my own expenses throughout my travels. I pulled out the envelope where I had stored the last of my funds. To my surprise, I had more money than I had begun the entire trip with! I was shocked. I exclaimed, ‘This is not my money!’ I found a church that had begun construction for its building. I handed the pastor the entire sum.
“I learned, early on in this lifestyle of living by faith, that God will always provide for my needs. All of these years, He has always, always come through for me.”
A few hours later, I was sitting with my mother-in-law at lunchtime. She smiled and confided, “I haven’t traveled anywhere for a good while now. I found myself itching to do so. I expressed to the Father, ‘I want to go somewhere outside the country!” Right after that, my good friend called me. ‘The Lord has put it on my heart to take you on a trip to Paraguay,’ she said. I grinned! My Father heard my petition in secret, and I already had my answer!”
The two of them are giants in the faith. I have learned more than I can describe from their example. They know firsthand the truth of this Scripture: “And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:19, NIV). They have “tested” God in the only way He invites us to (Mal. 3:10). They have found Him to be a good, kind, faithful Abba Father, ever true to His promise to provide.
Do you notice something about our Scripture for today, though? He promises to meet all our needs according to His riches in glory. But the preceding verse gives us a key that ties into the promise: “…The gifts you sent… are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God” (Phil. 4:18, NIV). Generosity towards the Lord is that key.
When we get a revelation about how faithful and good and generous our Daddy is, our spontaneous response will be to imitate Him. Looking unto Him, we will adopt a heart posture and lifestyle of extreme generosity. That expression of His generosity through our lives pleases His heart greatly. He can’t help Himself, and pours out even more blessings on us! As we live this way, we connect into the economy of heaven, to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. That, my friend, is where we live constantly in the promise of our God meeting all of our needs.
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Do you remember a time that you stepped out in faith with your finances, giving generously to God’s Kingdom, and found Him surprising you with supernatural provision?
Feeding On Jesus 
We have learned over and over again that we cannot out-give God. There was a tike that it was an everyday struggle to know where our next meal was coming from, if the utilities would get shut off and if we would lose our home.
BUT GOD….
– Sent bags of groceries to our porch
– Put cash in the mailbox
– Made a way for us to keep our home
GOD IS SO GOOD!
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This makes me smile so big! Thank You JESUS, You are so, so GOOD!
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I remember eating lots of potato soup as a child and I always thought it was because it tasted so good the way Mother made it. Not until I was a young adult did I learn that we had it so often because those were the times we could not afford meat.
But we never lacked for food, clothing or shelter and were blessed all through my childhood as Dad and Mom faithfully supported both the local church and lots of missionaries.
I disagree with those who ‘require’ tithing on Biblical principle (this was the OT taxation system under the theocracy, and thus would be comparable to paying taxes in America today).
At the same time, in our affluence any Christ-follower who ONLY tithes is worse than the donors in Jesus’ day giving out of their abundance to the Temple. The widow’s two small coins were worth more to God than all their wealth. “Everyone to whom much is given, of him much will be required.” (Luke 12:48) May we be found faithful in the small things like our money!! He is never unfaithful in anything He does.
❤️&🙏, c.a.
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I wholeheartedly agree; learned the same stance on tithing from my dad years ago and it’s always made perfect sense to me. He pointed out how, in Acts 15 when the Jerusalem council decided on just a few requirements to carry over, tithing was not among them. But yes, may the Lord find us so much more generous than just 10%, for He alone is worthy of it all! I also so loved hearing of His beautiful care for you and your family as you grew up! That is similar to ours. We ate a lot of beans and rice in the early years. But always had our needs met!
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(My replies are extra delayed currently because we are in “hosting missions teams” season.)
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A-MEN to all the comments about ‘giving’ All the material giving if spontaneous must be out of LOVE for our Saviour not as some obligation like a Govt. tax or levy.
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Exactly! Wonderfully expressed, Faye
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When we get a revelation about how faithful and good and generous our Daddy is, our spontaneous response will be to imitate Him.🎯
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Thank you, dear!!
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I remember many times the Lord has given me above and beyond what I asked for. I’ve written about some of those times. Here’s one of them:
http://seekingdivineperspective.com/2019/12/06/loaves-fishes-and-toys/
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I am so, so glad you shared this with me! It just absolutely made my night! BEAUTIFUL!!
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I am amazed that the Lord, who comes through for families that are on the brink of starvation, will also multiply toys for children at Christmastime. I guess it shouldn’t surprise me. It’s not as if God has limited reources. 😉 Sometimes He gives us an abundance of gifts “just because.” ❤
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Exactly! I really have become convinced that He enjoys expressing lavish generosity!
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