Wants vs Needs

"The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want" - Psalm 23:1

Today I am reading about how God provides all my needs. It's kinda made me take a step back and think about what those things are that I actually need and what the things are that I simply want. God doesn't promises to provide all of our wants, but he does promise to provide all of our NEEDS. This is a quote from the book I am reading called "Powerful Promises for Every Woman"

"In His omniscience (His complete knowledge), God knows (or sees) our need; In His power, He can provide; and In His goodness, He must provide for what his knowledge and wisdom reveal to be the true need of His people"

At first when I read this, I almost felt uncomfortable by the word "must." It almost seemed like a demand- God MUST do this. But as a re-read it, I realized that because of God's character, because of His goodness, because of His love, he really must provide for my NEEDS.

Again, this causes me to ponder what things in my life are needs and what things are simply wants. I know that I NEED food and clothing, which God has provided. I WANT to be able to go out to eat whenever I feel like it and buy a new outfit whenever I see something cute, but that isn't always the case. I NEED shelter, but I WANT to refurnish some of our apartment. I NEED to have times of rest, but I really WANT to go to California this summer with Isaac. I NEED love and encouragement, but sometimes I WANT to find it in people rather than in Christ. I NEED purpose in my life, but sometimes I WANT to create my own purpose that may not neccisarily be what God desires for me. I think for a long time I have felt like God wasn't going to provide for me because I have been looking for God to provide my wants, rather than my needs. Honestly, as I look back on my life, I can't remember a time that God did not provide my needs. For a while, I worried that God was not providing my needs. In reality, God was just not always giving me what I wanted. BIG DIFFERENCE. I think if I really looked at needs and wants, I would realize that I serve a God that can be trusted to provide all my needs. As for my wants, the Bible says " Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart." Psalm 37:4. I believe that as I draw near to God, he will begin to fufill the things that my heart desires. Now, am I saying that as I draw near to God, he will provide for me to get new clothes or eat out all the time, or have a refurnished apartment? No. I know that as I delight myself in God, His desires will become my desires, and those things he will provide!



Side note for today: Isaac and I are trying to plan a vacation around our anniversary. We never really got a honeymoon and anytime we have tried to have a vacation, we have had a major family crisis. Basically we have never been able to just get away and enjoy some time with each other. We are trying to see if we can spend a few days in Califonia in San Diego because we have family there and may have a place to stay, but it seems like a bit of a long shot. Please keep us in prayer. This is definately one of those Wants. I know that Isaac and I desperately NEED to be able to rest and enjoy some time with each other, but we very much WANT to do that in California. I guess we will see what happens!!