WHAT I NEED

I Was Just Thinking About – WHAT I NEED.

Most of us have a sense of self-sufficiency. We don’t always have the material things we desire but we have enough to sustain us and our family. Some of us can remember what it was like to live during the great depression in the United States, as well as the rationing and limitations that accompanied the nation’s involvement in World War 2. The recollection is that we survived and made it. We learned to do without all of the comforts and extras in life. We made do with what we had because we had to do it. The national focus was that (a) we were to remember Pearl Harbor and the Japanese attack on the American Fleet situated there, and (b) we were persuaded that victory in Europe and the Pacific was the only goal and purpose.

At that time, there was a greater tolerance for religion, especially prayer. We knew that we were ill-prepared as a nation to pursue a war on two major fronts and that God must be sought if we were to prevail. President Franklin D. Roosevelt even led the nation in prayer via radio on the eve of D-Day and the Normandy Invasion. Part of that prayer was:

“Almighty God: Our sons, pride of our Nation, this day have set upon a mighty endeavor, a struggle to preserve our Republic, our religion, and our civilization, and to set free a suffering humanity. Lead them straight and true; give strength to their arms, stoutness to their hearts, steadfastness in their faith. They will need Thy blessings. Their road will be long and hard. For the enemy is strong. He may hurl back our forces. Success may not come with rushing speed, but we shall return again and again; and we know that by Thy grace, and by the righteousness of our cause, our sons will triumph….Some will never return. Embrace these, Father, and receive them, Thy heroic servants, into Thy kingdom. And for us at home -- fathers, mothers, children, wives, sisters, and brothers of brave men overseas -- whose thoughts and prayers are ever with them--help us, Almighty God, to rededicate ourselves in renewed faith in Thee in this hour of great sacrifice…” 

Biblically, when war and destruction by Assyria was imminent and Sennacherib had sent terms for surrender, Isaiah 37:14 records, “Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers, and read it; and Hezekiah went up to the house of the Lord, and spread it before the Lord.” In behalf of the people, Hezekiah sought for the wisdom and protection from the Lord.

When the armies of the Moabites and Ammonites had assembled to attack Judah and Jerusalem, Second Chronicles 20:3 indicates,  “Jehoshaphat was afraid and set his face to seek the Lord…” The response of God is given in verse 15, “Thus says the Lord to you: Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed at this great horde, for the battle is not yours but God’s.”

Our needs may vary but with the Lord is no variance. What He has promised, He will do. Joseph Stowell stated in his devotional, titled, Pilgrimage Toward Intimacy – September 7, 2018, “When we forget that we need Him, our Christianity becomes little more than a task maintained by responsibilities and requirements. God really doesn’t need to do much for us. We are pretty well set. While we count on Him for the big things, such as redemption, or bailing us out if life goes in the ditch, we miss the pleasure and wonder of needing Him and being in touch with His presence and power that alone can satisfy, sustain, and secure us as an ongoing experience of life.” 

If only, we would sing more often from our hearts and souls:

I need Jesus, my need I now confess;
No friend like Him in times of deep distress;
I need Jesus, the need I gladly own;
Though some may bear their load alone, 

Yet I need Jesus.

Refrain:

I need Jesus, I need Jesus, 

I need Jesus every day;
Need Him in the sunshine hour,
Need Him when the storm clouds lower;
Every day along my way, Yes, I need Jesus.

Prayerfully – consider these things with me.