Reflection on New Morning Mercies by Paul David Tripp – Nov 22 entry.
Matthew 6:8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
Matthew 6:32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.
God promises to meet our true needs Mt 6:25-32.
The word ‘need’ in relation to the above promise should be understood as “essential for life” in light of God’s providence. What we often call needs are actually desires or wants, but when we use the word ‘need,’ we convince ourselves of three things.
- You feel entitled to it. (You are confident it is your right to have in your life.)
- You think it is your right to demand it. (There is no shame in asking for it again and again.)
- You judge the love of God based on receiving it.
In your mind, if you call a desire or want a ‘need’, then you are likely to question God’s goodness, faithfulness, and reliability.
Think of this in view of a missionary’s testimony of pending suffering.
Yesterday, I read about a missionary in Asia during the late 1800s or early 1900s facing imprisonment or execution. (I can’t find the source now.) He wrote a letter to his parents, saying something like this.
- I am about a great and noble task.
- I serve a great master.
- I am confident in my destiny.
I found the source after some earnest searching.
John Williams was martyred on November, 20 in 1839 while serving as a missionary in New Hebrides (Vanuatu) of the South Pacific. He wrote in a letter to his parents:
“I am engaged in the best of services, for the best of masters, and upon the best of terms.”
Love that! True for all who serve Christ.