Day #13:

Day #13: Although you may not be getting what you want in life, you may be getting what you need.

Ahhh, the age-old “wants vs. needs” debate.
This is one of my favorite topics of discussion with the elementary school kids I work with. In conjunction with consumerism and economics lessons and programs, this talk always comes up. I sometimes name off, or hold up pictures, of items and ask them to tell me if they think it’s a WANT or a NEED.

And in this exercise, most 3rd and 4th graders voice that a television, video game system, movies and 4-wheeler are necessities to life. Food, water, air, and shelter are just “basics” that come later.

Ironically, you don’t have to be in 3rd or 4th grade to deal with wants and needs. By the time we have hit our adulthood, we can process the basics, but let’s face it, we can still struggle with differentiating wants and needs in our lives.

We might reallllllly want that:
job.
house.
car.
spouse.
kid.
picket fence.
money.
smaller waist.
(insert your own want here)

But do we need it?

As the theme of this blog seems to go, life isn’t going to be just as we expected. Being a realist here, we’re not going to get everything that we want. However, the wonderful thing about that is (yes, wonderful can be found in it) is that the Lord still provides everything that we NEED. Maybe you do need a job—if the Lord knows that and sees that it is best for you and what you truly need, then He will provide. I know of couples who have wanted a family with kids for years and years, and when the Lord knew it was time that they needed it, He provided them with beautiful children.

Even better, sometimes the Lord sees that our need is completely different and even more amazing than what we could’ve imagined that we wanted.

“But my God shall supply ALL your needs, according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” –Philippians 4:19 (note that it doesn’t say some of them… ALL of them)

So remember, although you may not be getting what you want in life, you may be getting exactly what you need.