Feeling Needy Today? Join the Club!

As I contemplate the approaching of yet another surgery, I find myself falling into a deep state of neediness. I need comforting. I need reassurance. I need certainty. I need listening ears. I need loving arms. And the list goes on and on and on. I am finding my neediness annoying even to myself. I don’t want to be so weak. I want to be strong. I don’t want to repel people because they can’t take me being so needy. But I can’t stop. The dimension of my needs is wider, longer and deeper that I had anticipated. A couple of weeks ago, however, I read in my devotional these words by Beth Moore which brought me hope and a different perspective: “God is the only one who is not repelled by the depth and length of our needs.”

Remembering this truth helps me exhale. I don’t have to be guarded with God. He knows exactly what is happening to me at any moment so it is not news to Him that I am at a needy state. And He can take my moaning and complaining too. He has a lot of experience dealing with whiners. Take the Israelites, for example…boy, they certainly mastered the art of whining while roaming around in the desert. “We’re hungry!” “We’re thirsty!” “We want meat!” “The enemy is too big!” “We are too small!” One can really see here how patience is, indeed, a main component of God’s character.

What does God do when we find ourselves drown by our needs? He provides. Just as God provided not only His very presence before them, but also godly leaders to the Israelites all throughout their desert wandering, He provides what we need in our hour of need. He provides His Word to find comfort. He provides His loving arms to find rest. He provides an awareness of His presence to give us strength. He also provides prayer warriors and friends who help us carry our burden.

What does God do when we find ourselves at a defining moment in our struggles? He encourages us, just as He encouraged the Israelites when they were about to finally cross the Jordan to face their destiny. At that moment, God spoke His words to His people through Moses in His commendation to Joshua by saying:

“The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.” Deuteronomy 31: 8

These are words to live by every day, but especially in those days that we are facing our needs, our fears, our weaknesses and our struggles.

So now, when I am at my point of most heightened neediness…I will take refuge in Him. I will remember that there is a place where I can vent all I want without scaring anybody away. I can let out my deepest needs in the place where mercy meets me. He will deliver me while tending to my deepest needs and strengthening my soul. Praise be to God! Jehovah Rapha, the Healer…Jehovah Jireh, The Provider.

Linking with Be Simply Better, Faith Filled Friday