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"Needs"

Writer's picture: LightInZambiaLightInZambia

We have a joke in my family that there are three classes of "need": Need, Want, and Really Really Want (Which is basically a need).


I've been thinking a lot about "needs" lately. In a time where even basic things like food to survive aren't available to everyone here in Zambia, it highlights how often I say I "need" something. I started to take note of the times I prayed or said, "I just need," "I really need," or some equivalent of "I need." When I look closer, I see a lot of variety in what I classify as a need. Some of those "needs" are really just desires or preferences.


Even in the things I want, I sometimes find a conflict. Zambia needs rain. We pray for it, and we thank God for it when it comes. But as a week of rainy days started to turn into two, I found myself praying for a day of no rain. Drying clothes inside on sunless days is complicated. It typically takes two days to dry- and after one day, it starts to have a mildew odor, which means rewashing and reattempting to dry. After a run of failed attempts at laundry, I found myself pleading with God for enough hours to dry the clothes on the line. He provided that Sunday afternoon. As I thanked Him for it, I realized that the need for clean clothes and the need for rain conflicted. My priority was based on which need impacted me most right now... a bit short-sighted, really.


How often do we plead with God for that thing we "need"? When He doesn't give it or doesn't give it now, how do we know if it's really what's best for us? Should we stop asking so we don't nag God for something that isn't good for us? Or are we giving up too soon when the answer is "not now"?These verses are two of my favorites when it comes to needs and wants.


"For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly." Psalm 84:11


If God hasn't given it, then either I'm not walking uprightly and am asking for something outside God's will, or it's not good for me/ not good for me right now. I can trust God's decision much more than my own view on what I "need".


"Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God." Romans 8:26+27


We don't know what is best for us, but God does. When we come to Him with our needs and desires—even the ones too deep to put into words—the Holy Spirit filters them to align with God's will and our best. He sees the whole picture. Let's trust Him with our needs (both practical and emotional). His timing and will are always best.





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