The Blessing of Unmet Needs

Patrick Morley, in his collection of devotions entitled Devotions for the Man in the Mirror, shared a revealing story concerning the difficulty many face when living in prosperity.

A mission team traveled to Haiti to minister to the poor on this impoverished island. There, the team met a young 19 year old man who exhibited deep Christan faith. After the team returned home, they decided to provide the funds for the young man to travel to the United States. For six weeks, he was afforded luxuries he never experienced in Haiti. For the first time, he slept between clean sheets, ate three meals a day, and used indoor plumbing.

Before returning to Haiti, the young man's hosts gave him a special meal and, afterwards, they took time to say their goodbyes. The Haitian was asked if he had anything to say. He stood and said, "I want to thank you so much for inviting me here. I have really enjoyed this time in the United States. But I am also very glad to be going home. You have so much in America, that I'm beginning to lose my grip on my day-to-day dependency on Christ."

On Wall Street, amid a potential catastrophic financial collapse looms, I am sure many more prayers are being said than are usually uttered. After the terrorist attacks of 9/11/2001, churches were pack with worshippers seeking to make sense of senseless violence. In the midst of catastrophe, we are forced to pray.

The normal Christian life is lived in faith. We must be dependent on Christ. Jesus said, "Apart from me you can do nothing." We need God. However, materialism and our lust for pleasure can dull our desires to spend time with God. Yet, unmet needs that arise amid troubles force us back to Him.

"You'll never know Jesus is all you need until Jesus is all you have."

James 4:10 "Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he will lift you up."