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    We Christians often talk of God giving us what we need. In fact, it is something of a mantra among Christians that God provides. The question is how many Christians really believe that God provides us what we need?
    The truth is that our sinful flesh leads us to question God when we do not get our own way. The issue is never whether we have what we need, but whether we have what we want. In our sinful confusion, we equate one thing with another, failing to realize that they are two different considerations.
    God promised to deliver to the Israelites the land they were about to enter into, but they failed to understand what God’s promise meant. Instead, they looked at the problems that faced them, and assumed that God must be failing them because their conquest would not be easy. The truth was far different. God did not promise the Israelites an easy conquest. He promised to deliver the land into their hands. One consideration was what the Israelites wanted. The other consideration was what God knew they needed.
    As Christians, we too should remember that God did not promise to make our lives easy, He promised to get the faithful Christian to Heaven. On the contrary, the Bible is replete with references that we will experience times of suffering and want. These times are designed to bring us closer to God by forcing us to rely on Him through faith. The moral of this tale is to remember that our faith is for our salvation and to get us to Heaven. Whatever happens in the meantime is irrelevant toward achieving that goal.
DLH
