http://www.jendeleon.com |
The
thought recently came to me that we are all needy people. Some of us are not
aware of the needs we have.
Our
primary need is that of salvation. “Therefore,
if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold,
the new has come” (2 Corinthians 5:17, ESV) Each of us needs the LORD to save
us from our sins. Without the LORD in our hearts,
we all deserve to go to Hades. Yes, we sometimes make decisions that are not
wise. However, God loves us even then, all we have to do is admit our sin and
ask His forgiveness.
Another
need we, as humans have, is discipline.
“Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent.” (Revelation 3:19, ESV) God wants us to
spend time with Him in prayer and in studying His Word. We have to set a time
for these activities. Because I write,
my Bible study time blends in with my writing time. I find the best time for me
to pray, read and study my Bible is in the mornings before a lot of household
activity begins.
Due to
our humanity, we need rest- physical
and spiritual. “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give
you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly
in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” (Matthew 11:28-29, ESV) I am
learning how to gauge my evening entertainment watching television and playing games on my tablet. I find I get more sleep
and better rest when I read a book for 30 minutes before I finally turn in. If
I sleep in, I find myself out of sorts. I used to feel I had to rush through
things to keep up with my mental “to-do” list. I have decided that all these
activities and schedules are in God’s hands.
We also
need good interaction with others. We call that fellowship. “Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another. (Proverbs
27:17, ESV) Because I pursue the craft of writing, I treasure my solitude.
However, I also realize the need for interaction with others. When I go to the
pharmacy, I take the time to ask this one worker about how her husband’s small
business is going. The others, once I get to know them especially if it’s near
a holiday, I ask if they have to work on that day. If it’s a store that I
seldom frequent, I might tell the cashier handling my transaction, “Thank you.”
At the grocery store, I try to tell them to “be blessed.” As needy as we are,
these workers need to feel appreciated.
God
will guide us, His children, through our needs. His Word promises us that.
Hi Cecelia, that is quite an interesting post (I would like to do a blog series on that topic one day) :) Thanks for posting. I have finished my Bible alphabet blog series, so the next post will be a review of your devotional book.
ReplyDeleteMarja: Thank you for your warm response. I look forward to your review.
DeleteI am so needy. So... my heart craves this.
ReplyDeleteSandi, we all are needy. We need God in our lives.
DeleteYes...Salvation is #1...then the discipline, rest and fellowship will follow. Something we all need to be reminded of daily. It seems as though we often may too much of one or the other, and things get out of whack. Especially the rest and fellowship. If we have TOO much fellowship, we may not get enough rest, and vice versa. Sometimes I can think I am just too tired to go out and be with people, and then I cheat myself of great blessings. There must be balance in all of the above...but Salvation is always #1, and then all the others will fall into place.
ReplyDeletePam: You are right. We have to have balance in our lives.
DeleteCeclia: It was lovely to see you this weekend at the Taylor writers conference! Thank you for praying with me and for me. You are a gem! We need not only the Lord, but each other, don't we? Love you, dear friend, Jen
ReplyDeleteI was so nice to see you and to meet Dee. I enjoyed the time there. I am still trying to get rested up. The cooling of the temp has caused my Fibro to flare up.
Delete