{"id":17452,"date":"2014-01-31T00:01:26","date_gmt":"2014-01-31T05:01:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/?p=17452"},"modified":"2014-01-31T07:17:33","modified_gmt":"2014-01-31T12:17:33","slug":"christlife-chapter-15-knowing-need","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/2014\/01\/31\/christlife-chapter-15-knowing-need\/","title":{"rendered":"CHRISTLife — Chapter 15: Knowing My Need"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"CLfridaygraphic\"<\/a>Before Christ, I was \u201cspiritually dead, defiled, disobedient, and deceived.\u201d I was \u201cempty, enslaved, and self-willed.\u201d Then at the age of six, I knelt at an altar of prayer, and those things were washed away by the blood of Jesus Christ. Yes, it\u2019s true, I was all those ugly things. Psalm 51:5, \u201cSurely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.\u201d Romans 3:10, \u201cAs it is written: There is no one righteous, not even one;\u201d No matter at what age you got saved, I know you are saying with me, \u201cPraise God, He saved me from all of that and so much more!\u201d<\/p>\n

However, I am still needy. How about you? In our flesh we are still prone toward \u201cdoing evil deeds\u201d (Colossians 1:21, ESV). As humans we still have our limitations, and we still sin. So we must continually \u201cacknowledge our deep need for God and cast away our self-centered pride.\u201d God can only work in us when we admit that we are His child, and as a child we are dependent on Him to care for us and help us in our weaknesses. Romans 8:26, \u201cIn the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness.\u201d Even though we have many wonderful qualities, we can\u2019t take personal credit and think too highly of ourselves. Instead, we must see that it is not by our works but by His mercy that we do anything good.<\/p>\n

He saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy. \u00a0He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit. <\/span>
\nTitus 3:5 NLT<\/span><\/p>\n

If we never had any needs\u2014emotionally, physically, psychologically, or spiritually\u2014we would never realize just how needy we are for God. He created us for Himself. Genesis 1:26, \u201cThen God said, \u2018Let Us make man in Our image, in Our likeness\u2026.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam and Eve spent time in God\u2019s presence. But as I think about them, I\u2019m not sure they truly understood their need for Him until they had sinned and realized they weren\u2019t \u201cpresentable\u201d anymore.<\/p>\n

When the cool evening breezes were blowing, the man and his wife heard the Lord God walking about in the garden. So they hid from the Lord God among the trees. Then the Lord God called to the man, \u201cWhere are you?\u201d He (Adam) replied, \u201cI heard You walking in the garden, so I hid. I was afraid because I was naked.\u201d
\nGenesis 3:8-10 NLT<\/p>\n

After God told Adam and Eve how their sin would affect their lives from then on, He forgave them and, through the sacrifice of animals (Genesis 3:21), He provided for their need. Life wasn\u2019t easy (verses 22-24), but the good news is that it kept them humble and in relationship with Him.<\/p>\n

For the Lord hears the needy<\/span> <\/strong>and does not despise His own people.
\nPsalm 69:33 ESV<\/p>\n

He stands beside the needy,<\/strong><\/span> ready to save them.
\nPsalm 109:31 NLT<\/p>\n

The more we study God\u2019s Word and spend time with Him, the more we will recognize our shortcomings and our great need for Him to reign in our lives. We will find our help is in the Lord, as God tells us in Isaiah 41:17-20, \u201cWhen the poor and needy<\/span><\/strong> search for water and there is none, and their tongues are parched from thirst, then I, the Lord, will answer them. I, the God of Israel, will never abandon them.\u201d<\/p>\n

As pride is gotten under control, God doesn\u2019t want us to think too lowly of ourselves either. David said (Psalm 40:17 NLT) that even though he was needy\u2014God was thinking about him! Please meditate on this Scripture because it shows us just how significant we actually are to our Father God. He is thinking about you and me!<\/p>\n

Yes, we are needy. I know I personally need more love, more patience, more self-control, more\u2014you name it. As I grow in God\u2019s Word, I will see how He is providing for me, protecting me, guiding and guarding me. I will see more clearly how much He loves me. How about you? Have you taken time to see your needs? Have you looked into God\u2019s Word to see how much He wants to help you? Do you know today that God loves you, my friend, and He wants only His best for you? That\u2019s His message to you right now. Our Lord is saying to you, \u201cI have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness<\/span><\/strong>\u201d (Jeremiah 31:3).<\/p>\n

May these Scriptures be your heart cry today:<\/p>\n

The humble will be filled with fresh joy from the Lord.
\nThe poor will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.
\nIsaiah 29:19 NLT<\/p>\n

Teach me Your ways, O Lord, that I may live according to Your truth!
\nGrant me purity of heart, so that I may honor You.
\nWith all my heart I will praise You, O Lord my God.
\nI will give glory to Your name forever, for Your love for me is very great.
\nYou have rescued me from the depths of death.
\nPsalms 86:11-13 NLT<\/p>\n

Whom have I in Heaven but You? I desire You more than anything on earth.
\nPsalm 73:25 NLT<\/p>\n

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Dear Lord and Savior of our souls, thank You for loving us beyond our comprehension. Thank You for loving us enough to save us. Thank You for continuing to show us Your love by revealing to us our areas of weakness so we will repent, be forgiven, and become more like You. We acknowledge our need for You. May we always hunger and thirst for You, Lord, for You promise to answer us and never abandon us. We love You, Lord. In Jesus\u2019 Precious and Holy Name, Amen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Before Christ, I was \u201cspiritually dead, defiled, disobedient, and deceived.\u201d I was \u201cempty, enslaved, and self-willed.\u201d Then at the age of six, I knelt at an altar of prayer, and those things were washed away by the blood of Jesus Christ. Yes, it\u2019s true, I was all those ugly things. Psalm 51:5, \u201cSurely I was […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":53,"featured_media":17467,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[5040],"tags":[5098,5279,5268,3660,5272,5274,5287,1287,5278,5280,425,436,450,506,5288,5285,552,5269,5273,5284,1510,5283,5286,5270,5282,5290,5289,5271,5275,5068,964,5277,5276,1739],"class_list":["post-17452","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-christlife-bible-study","tag-christlife-embracing-your-true-and-deepest-identity","tag-adam-and-eve","tag-chapter-15","tag-clella-gilbert-fox","tag-colossians-121","tag-dependent","tag-everlasting-love","tag-gch","tag-genesis-126","tag-genesis-38-10","tag-girlfriends-coffee-hour","tag-god","tag-gods-word","tag-holy-spirit","tag-isaiah-2919","tag-isaiah-4117-20","tag-jeremiah-313","tag-knowing-my-need","tag-limitations","tag-needy","tag-pride","tag-psalm-10931","tag-psalm-4017","tag-psalm-515","tag-psalm-6933","tag-psalm-7325","tag-psalm-8611-13","tag-romans-310","tag-romans-826","tag-ruth-myers","tag-sin","tag-titus-35","tag-weakness","tag-womens-on-line-bible-study","entry"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/CHRISTLifepart2coverpic.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p39pHp-4xu","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17452","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/53"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17452"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17452\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17471,"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17452\/revisions\/17471"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17467"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17452"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17452"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17452"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}