Being Needy

But may all who seek you
    rejoice and be glad in you;
may those who long for your saving help always say,
    “The Lord is great!”

But as for me, I am poor and needy;
    may the Lord think of me.
You are my help and my deliverer;
    you are my God, do not delay.  Psalm 40:16-17

We all have needs.  At Christmas time, my daughter has numerous things that she wants for Christmas like dolls, a tablet, and a bike.  As a parent, I must be wise to remember that while those are things she would love to have, she has needs like a winter coat, new boots, and books that will teach her what she needs to know.  We all have our responsibility to focus on those things that we need and not be indulgent as to what we want.  The problem is discerning what exactly that we truly need.

As my wife and I prayed last night, my focus went to my dependence on God.  He has given me so much, but yet, I found myself humbly needing more.  Not more things. Rather, a greater depth and understanding of His purpose for my life.

A true relationship with Christ should find us needing more of Him each day.  Our daily lives are filled with demands on our time from work, family, and other duties.  Too often these become our priorities.  This is not to say these things are to be left idle or diminished.  However, we should realize all that we have is given to us by God.  Each of our responsibilities are blessing from a God whose wisdom is beyond understanding, love is without limits,, and mercy is overwhelming.  Those are the things we need, and in the 40^th Psalm, David clearly understand this.

Without God, we have very little in life worthwhile.  One of my favorite hymns when I was a child says, “I need Thee, oh, I need thee.  Every hour I need thee.”  The song speaks of a relationship so powerful and intimate that one cannot imagine living without it.  That is what a healthy growing relationship with God emulates.  Is your relationship with God a wanted one or needed one?  What priorities in your life need rearranging to create a closer relationship with God?  My prayer is that in our relationship with God, we are intentionally needy.  Amen.