Philippians 4:19

And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.

(v19, NIV)

God will meet your needs. There are a number of things that we need. Our basic need to survive are some of the main things that we need. We need food and water to survive. God will meet our needs, we need only ask him.

"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.

"Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.

(Matthew 7:7-12, NIV)

Do you really think that if you ask for something that you need, God will instead give you something harmful to you? God is good. Thinking to the human relationship we may have with our father, do you think a father will give a son something harmful if he asks for something he needs? Sure, you can think of exceptions and particular circumstances where that's not the case, but for the most part, the general rule applies. In the same way, God will do as our fathers do. Our earthly fathers we have been given may have been good to us. However, they do not compare to our father in heaven. He is good.

There is a problem. Sometimes we think we need something, but we really don't. So, when we come to God with this request, we expect him to give it to us because we may think we need it. So, when he doesn't give it to us, we blame God and call him a liar. God is good, and he knows what is best for us. We should trust in him that he knows what's best for us.

Paul is saying this in response to the giving of those at the church in Philippi. They sent Epaphroditus with the offering they collected to give to Paul. Paul didn't need it, for he knows how to be content when he has a lot and when he only has a little. However, he is thankful and looks forward to the benefit they will receive from their giving. He is reassuring them that God will meet their needs. They probably weren't very well off and their giving may have been out of poverty. When giving in that situation, and giving so much that Paul was amply supplied, they may not have much left for themselves. An understandable worry they may have is that they do not have enough for themselves. Paul is reassuring them that God will meet their needs. Earlier, he encouraged them to not worry about anything, but instead to bring their requests to God. In this circumstance, they are not to worry. They have obediently been following and serving the Lord Jesus Christ. They have listened to God and gave to Paul an offering to help Paul in his ministry. They shouldn't worry and only trust in God to meet their needs.

Trusting in God doesn't mean to simply do nothing. We need to lift everything to God in prayer. We can't just sit back and wait for God to lay everything in our laps. We need to do something too. Can you imagine someone who hasn't studied a single minute for their exam simply praying 10 minutes before the exam for God to provide for their needs and give them a passing grade? It's possible for God to do that, but is that really how God works? Not all the time and not most of the time.