Do You Know That God Knows?

This Sunday I will be continuing my message series Escape to Generous City, and will be dealing with the subject of worry - the nemesis of generosity. In Matthew chapter 6, there is a very interesting phrase that the Lord Jesus imparts to us in verse 32, "For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things." Did you get that? God knows what we need. Now to make it personal, say it to yourself, "God knows what I need." This seems elementary but I assure you it is not, because to the degree that we believe v.32 is true, reveals the depth of our faith in God's ability to provide for our needs.

Now we think we need a lot of things. And if I don’t get what I think I need then I'm forced to make a determination. Either God wants me to have it but is testing my prayer life and patience, or He doesn’t believe it is a genuine need in my life.

And that is what we have a hard time accepting.

The truth is, if it’s not something associated with our livelihood (food, clothing and shelter) then it really isn’t a need – but a want.

How many of us pray for God to give us something we think we need, and when He doesn’t, take matters into our own hands? How many of us say to God with our actions, “God, I really needed it and you weren’t moving fast enough (I know how busy you are) so I just went ahead and took care of it. If you would still like to help then please send money so I can pay the credit card bill when it comes.”

I think it happens all the time and that is why Christians, who should be the most content people on the planet, are mired in constant worry and stress. And because of this . . .

• They are living with bills they were never meant to have
• They are living with material things that they were never meant to have but are now responsible for. When you own something . . . it own you as well.

As long as the Christian remains tangled in a web of worry, he cannot escape to Generous City. God never promised to give us everything we wanted, but He did promise to supply all our needs. And perhaps our greatest need of all is to be reminded occasionally that God is keenly aware (more than we are) at every moment of exactly what we need.

CAP