God Is Not Neutral Toward Our Needs

 

Now may the God of peace . . . make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

(Hebrews 13:20‑21).

 

There is nothing "objective" about God's attitude toward us. We are creatures brought into being by God's love, and when a way for us to be redeemed could only be purchased by the life of God's Son, God did not stop short of making that sacrifice. The question of our well‑being is one in which God has a vested interest, to say the very least. God is for us. God is on our side. God is passionately biased in our favor. There is nothing good for us in this whole wide world that God is not eager and able to provide.

There is a sense in which God is eager to do good for every person God has created, even those who show no respect to God. Jesus said that "He makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust" (Matthew 5:45).

Then, there is a sense in which God cares for those who have obeyed the gospel of God's Son and who have remained faithful to Him. It is to obedient Christians that Peter wrote, "Let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to Him in doing good, as to a faithful Creator" (1 Peter 4:19). "Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God,"he continued,". . . casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you" (1 Peter 5:6‑7).

But there is a third point that must be made. Even when it is God's faithful saints who are under consideration, the needs that God is most eager to supply are those relating to God's rule. When Paul made his familiar statement in Philippians 4:13, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me," he was not speaking of goals like making a million dollars or winning an Olympic gold medal. He was simply stating his confidence that Christ wouldn't let him go without anything he needed to do His, that is, Christ's, work.

Whatever God expects us to do to accomplish God's purposes, God will help us do! And help in doing those things is what we ought to desire, far more than we desire God's help with lesser concerns. In anything related to the gospel of Christ, we needn't worry about coming up short. God will "make [us] complete in every good work to do His will, working in [us] what is well pleasing in His sight."

 

God eagerly awaits the chance to bless the person whose heart is turned toward Him.

Anonymous