Day 6/29 – Who is Meeting Your Needs?

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Thoughts from the Diary of a Desperate Man by Walter A Henrichsen (“Walt”)
Who is Meeting Your Needs?
Day One Hundred Eighty

“And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:19

Each person is forced to make a critical decision: Are you responsible for meeting your own needs, or do you look to God alone? Before you answer, remember the following: First, your needs are insatiable and can never be met to your satisfaction. Like a black hole, you will consume all and scream for more. Like food, no matter how full you feel after a meal, you will return to the table in a few hours to once again eat.

Second, if you conclude that your needs should be met by other than God, you will use people in your endeavor to meet your needs. Few things in life are as cruel and brutal as using others to meet your needs. The widower who, because he is lonely, marries another to meet his needs, only to constantly compare his present wife with his former, illustrates this tragedy.

Third, you will compete with others for the meeting of your needs, simply because temporal resources are limited. Like the couple that competes with each other over the affection of their children, their primary concern is getting rather than giving.

Why do people steal? Because they feel they have unmet needs and cannot trust God to meet them. The same is true for people who are immoral, divorce, and do many other evil things. Jesus summarized the Law in two commands: love God and your neighbor. You will never be able to adequately do this if you look to any source other than God for the meeting of your needs.

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Job 14-16 Acts 9:22-43 (New King James Version)

Job 14-16
Job Speaks of Life’s Woes
14
“Man who is born of woman
Is of few days and full of [a]trouble.
2
He comes forth like a flower and fades away;
He flees like a shadow and does not continue.
3
And do You open Your eyes on such a one,
And bring [b]me to judgment with Yourself?
4
Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean?
No one!
5
Since his days are determined,
The number of his months is with You;
You have appointed his limits, so that he cannot pass.
6
Look away from him that he may [c]rest,
Till like a hired man he finishes his day.
7
“For there is hope for a tree,
If it is cut down, that it will sprout again,
And that its tender shoots will not cease.
8
Though its root may grow old in the earth,
And its stump may die in the ground,
9
Yet at the scent of water it will bud
And bring forth branches like a plant.
10
But man dies and [d]is laid away;
Indeed he [e]breathes his last
And where is he?
11
As water disappears from the sea,
And a river becomes parched and dries up,
12
So man lies down and does not rise.
Till the heavens are no more,
They will not awake
Nor be roused from their sleep.
13
“Oh, that You would hide me in the grave,
That You would conceal me until Your wrath is past,
That You would appoint me a set time, and remember me!
14
If a man dies, shall he live again?
All the days of my hard service I will wait,
Till my change comes.
15
You shall call, and I will answer You;
You shall desire the work of Your hands.
16
For now You number my steps,
But do not watch over my sin.
17
My transgression is sealed up in a bag,
And You [f]cover my iniquity.
18
“But as a mountain falls and crumbles away,
And as a rock is moved from its place;
19
As water wears away stones,
And as torrents wash away the soil of the earth;
So You destroy the hope of man.
20
You prevail forever against him, and he passes on;
You change his countenance and send him away.
21
His sons come to honor, and he does not know it;
They are brought low, and he does not perceive it.
22
But his flesh will be in pain over it,
And his soul will mourn over it.”
Eliphaz Accuses Job of Folly
15 Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said:
2
“Should a wise man answer with empty knowledge,
And fill [g]himself with the east wind?
3
Should he reason with unprofitable talk,
Or by speeches with which he can do no good?
4
Yes, you cast off fear,
And restrain [h]prayer before God.
5
For your iniquity teaches your mouth,
And you choose the tongue of the crafty.
6
Your own mouth condemns you, and not I;
Yes, your own lips testify against you.
7
“Are you the first man who was born?
Or were you made before the hills?
8
Have you heard the counsel of God?
Do you limit wisdom to yourself?
9
What do you know that we do not know?
What do you understand that is not in us?
10
Both the gray-haired and the aged are among us,
Much older than your father.
11
Are the consolations of God too small for you,
And the word spoken [i]gently with you?
12
Why does your heart carry you away,
And [j]what do your eyes wink at,
13
That you turn your spirit against God,
And let such words go out of your mouth?
14
“What is man, that he could be pure?
And he who is born of a woman, that he could be righteous?
15
If God puts no trust in His saints,
And the heavens are not pure in His sight,
16
How much less man, who is abominable and filthy,
Who drinks iniquity like water!
17
“I will tell you, hear me;
What I have seen I will declare,
18
What wise men have told,
Not hiding anything received from their fathers,
19
To whom alone the [k]land was given,
And no alien passed among them:
20
The wicked man writhes with pain all his days,
And the number of years is hidden from the oppressor.
21
[l]Dreadful sounds are in his ears;
In prosperity the destroyer comes upon him.
22
He does not believe that he will return from darkness,
For a sword is waiting for him.
23
He wanders about for bread, saying, ‘Where is it?’
He knows that a day of darkness is ready at his hand.
24
Trouble and anguish make him afraid;
They overpower him, like a king ready for [m]battle.
25
For he stretches out his hand against God,
And acts defiantly against the Almighty,
26
Running stubbornly against Him
With his strong, embossed shield.
27
“Though he has covered his face with his fatness,
And made his waist heavy with fat,
28
He dwells in desolate cities,
In houses which no one inhabits,
Which are destined to become ruins.
29
He will not be rich,
Nor will his wealth continue,
Nor will his possessions overspread the earth.
30
He will not depart from darkness;
The flame will dry out his branches,
And by the breath of His mouth he will go away.
31
Let him not trust in futile things, deceiving himself,
For futility will be his reward.
32
It will be accomplished before his time,
And his branch will not be green.
33
He will shake off his unripe grape like a vine,
And cast off his blossom like an olive tree.
34
For the company of hypocrites will be barren,
And fire will consume the tents of bribery.
35
They conceive trouble and bring forth futility;
Their womb prepares deceit.”
Job Reproaches His Pitiless Friends
16 Then Job answered and said:
2
“I have heard many such things;
Miserable[n] comforters are you all!
3
Shall [o]words of wind have an end?
Or what provokes you that you answer?
4
I also could speak as you do,
If your soul were in my soul’s place.
I could heap up words against you,
And shake my head at you;
5
But I would strengthen you with my mouth,
And the comfort of my lips would relieve your grief.
6
“Though I speak, my grief is not relieved;
And if I remain silent, how am I eased?
7
But now He has worn me out;
You have made desolate all my company.
8
You have shriveled me up,
And it is a witness against me;
My leanness rises up against me
And bears witness to my face.
9
He tears me in His wrath, and hates me;
He gnashes at me with His teeth;
My adversary sharpens His gaze on me.
10
They gape at me with their mouth,
They strike me reproachfully on the cheek,
They gather together against me.
11
God has delivered me to the ungodly,
And turned me over to the hands of the wicked.
12
I was at ease, but He has shattered me;
He also has taken me by my neck, and shaken me to pieces;
He has set me up for His target,
13
His archers surround me.
He pierces my [p]heart and does not pity;
He pours out my gall on the ground.
14
He breaks me with wound upon wound;
He runs at me like a [q]warrior.
15
“I have sewn sackcloth over my skin,
And laid my [r]head in the dust.
16
My face is [s]flushed from weeping,
And on my eyelids is the shadow of death;
17
Although no violence is in my hands,
And my prayer is pure.
18
“O earth, do not cover my blood,
And let my cry have no resting place!
19
Surely even now my witness is in heaven,
And my evidence is on high.
20
My friends scorn me;
My eyes pour out tears to God.
21
Oh, that one might plead for a man with God,
As a man pleads for his [t]neighbor!
22
For when a few years are finished,
I shall go the way of no return.
Footnotes:
• Job 14:1 turmoil
• Job 14:3 LXX, Syr., Vg. him
• Job 14:6 Lit. cease
• Job 14:10 lies prostrate
• Job 14:10 expires
• Job 14:17 Lit. plaster over
• Job 15:2 Lit. his belly
• Job 15:4 meditation or complaint
• Job 15:11 Or a secret thing
• Job 15:12 Or why do your eyes flash
• Job 15:19 Or earth
• Job 15:21 Terrifying
• Job 15:24 attack
• Job 16:2 Troublesome
• Job 16:3 Empty words
• Job 16:13 Lit. kidneys
• Job 16:14 Vg. giant
• Job 16:15 Lit. horn
• Job 16:16 Lit. red
• Job 16:21 friend

Acts 9:22-43
22 But Saul increased all the more in strength, and confounded the Jews who dwelt in Damascus, proving that this Jesus is the Christ.
Saul Escapes Death
23 Now after many days were past, the Jews plotted to kill him. 24 But their plot became known to Saul. And they watched the gates day and night, to kill him. 25 Then the disciples took him by night and let him down through the wall in a large basket.
Saul at Jerusalem
26 And when Saul had come to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples; but they were all afraid of him, and did not believe that he was a disciple. 27 But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. And he declared to them how he had seen the Lord on the road, and that He had spoken to him, and how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus. 28 So he was with them at Jerusalem, coming in and going out. 29 And he spoke boldly in the name of the Lord Jesus and disputed against the Hellenists,[a] but they attempted to kill him. 30 When the brethren found out, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him out to Tarsus.
The Church Prospers
31 Then the [b]churches throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and were edified.[c] And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, they were multiplied.
Aeneas Healed
32 Now it came to pass, as Peter went through all parts of the country, that he also came down to the saints who dwelt in Lydda. 33 There he found a certain man named Aeneas, who had been bedridden eight years and was paralyzed. 34 And Peter said to him, “Aeneas, Jesus the Christ heals you. Arise and make your bed.” Then he arose immediately. 35 So all who dwelt at Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord.
Dorcas Restored to Life
36 At Joppa there was a certain disciple named [d]Tabitha, which is translated [e]Dorcas. This woman was full of good works and charitable deeds which she did. 37 But it happened in those days that she became sick and died. When they had washed her, they laid her in an upper room. 38 And since Lydda was near Joppa, and the disciples had heard that Peter was there, they sent two men to him, imploring him not to delay in coming to them. 39 Then Peter arose and went with them. When he had come, they brought him to the upper room. And all the widows stood by him weeping, showing the tunics and garments which Dorcas had made while she was with them. 40 But Peter put them all out, and knelt down and prayed. And turning to the body he said, “Tabitha, arise.” And she opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter she sat up. 41 Then he gave her his hand and lifted her up; and when he had called the saints and widows, he presented her alive. 42 And it became known throughout all Joppa, and many believed on the Lord. 43 So it was that he stayed many days in Joppa with Simon, a tanner.
Footnotes:
• Acts 9:29 Greek-speaking Jews
• Acts 9:31 NU church . . . was
• Acts 9:31 built up
• Acts 9:36 Lit., in Aram., Gazelle
• Acts 9:36 Lit., in Gr., Gazelle