What You Need
Jesus knows what you need way more than you ever will. You may think, “how could that be when I barely know Him, find it hard to trust Him, or am still figuring out if He really exists?” Well, let me start with this, Jesus is a real historic figure. He came to this world to show us how we are in need of a Savior. We already see and know that we deal with brokenness, insecurity, envy, stress, disappointment, slander, sickness and so much more in this world. We all learn from a young age how to decipher good from bad to shield us from the consequences of what we shouldn’t do. In the same way, there needed to be a consequence for sin that exists in this world, which includes each person’s individual sin. That penalty is death. Romans 6:23 confirms that as it states, “For the wages of sin is death,” and the verse goes on to say, “but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” So, because of God’s love for us, He sent His Son to take on our punishment as a gift to us! Jesus defeated sin, death, the devil, and all of hell so that we could be safe with Him for eternity! Knowing that we needed a Savior to help us get out of our hurt and shame, Jesus took on all that was meant to keep us captive. Did you catch that?
Before any of us were even born, before any of us had a chance to be called a sinner yet, Jesus knew what we were in need of and took action!
You see, our Heavenly Father knows that the bad things that occur in this world go way deeper and way further back than when you entered into the story.
In order to live like Jesus has freed each of us from this sinful world, it’s important to realize our need for Him! When you’re young, it is hard realize your need for anything since most things are taken care of for you. What is usually on your mind as a child is having good grades, finding good friends, making good memories, and feeling like you are loved and care for. However, when you grow older some of those things vary, and are exchanged for bigger concerns. Yet, the true need of being loved and cared for is always there. Finding the satisfaction for that feeling can come in an unhealthy or healthy form, depending on what you base your source of love and care on. You can base your love and care on what your life looks like such as your social media status, your place in society, or the success of your schooling or job. That would be the unhealthy way of going about it since these sources can vary from day to day, and do not bring true satisfaction or security. On the other hand, you can realize how apart from God you can do no good and that your independence can only take you so far. The healthy way of living involves being aware of your need to be dependent on God in everything, that includes being led in thought, word, and action. Jesus is there for you in any and all circumstances. He is in the good moments when you feel everything is going right, and in the bad ones when you feel less than or unworthy from hurt, envy, comparison or being left out etc. He knows your need to be loved and cared for, that’s why He went through hell to rescue you! In Romans 5:8 we read, “but God showed his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Jesus bridged the gap that was created through sin, to have you be restored as His child! Everyone has broken the law which makes us sinners. Whether that be man’s law or God’s law is up to a personal reflection. Romans 3:23 states, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God..”
God’s law is meant to show us our sins, but when Jesus came into this world, we are shown our Savior through the Gospel!
In addition, Romans 8:1 tells us how our sin leaves no condemnation when we cling to the Savior! Titus 3:3 tells us, “For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaved to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another.” That verse doesn’t sound very encouraging, does it? No, but it is more often than not the reality of what living in this world can look like. However, the Word of God doesn’t just leave us with that to send us on our way and say, “figure it out.” We can know this by learning that the Lord knows just what we need, so we read on! Titus 3:4-7 says, “But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, but the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” Those last verses paint a whole new picture, don’t they?!
We are shown the moment we realize our need, is the moment we can exchange all the negative worldly things that we are born into for the heavenly things that are gifted to us!
Jesus, knowing all the negative effects of this world, decided to show up in the midst of our mess. We read in the last few verses how He extends His goodness, loving kindness, righteousness, mercy, grace and hope! Jesus doesn’t hold anything against us, for as our Savior, He already provided Himself as a way out of the worldly way of living. Just like the verse says, He renews us through His Holy Spirit and justifies us by His grace! It is not of our own doing that we are saved from punishment, but because of God’s work that we don’t get what we rightly deserve. So, yes, the Lord truly does know what we need before we do and He provides it all for us! I pray that you never forget how much you need the Savior’s love and care to live the life that He has given. The bad things that happen in this world often help remind us of two things. One, that this world is not meant to be our home, as our true home is with Jesus. And two, that we are to be aware of our need to depend on the Lord for everything, as we can do nothing by ourselves. We can’t even save ourselves from the brokenness of this world, but Jesus took care of that for us. In return, we can cling to His grace, hope, and love in any circumstance!
