Friday 27 Apr 2012

Friday Reading: Philippians 4:14-19

Key Verse: Philippians 4:19
19  But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

Devotion:
One of the things that I am sure many find difficult is waiting on God for something but no matter how long we are asked to wait for something we need to wait. It is not so much the fact that God is going to give to us but the fact that we need to show that we do rely on God that is important and sometimes He may want us to exercise that patience a little. Paul travelled a lot in bringing the Gospel to the Gentiles and in order to do that he needed some sort of support. He counted on that support to keep him being able to stay away from home and preach and teach everyone who was willing to listen. At times the Philippians were the only ones supporting him and that must have been a difficult situation to be in – knowing that you have but one lifeline!

God did make sure that He touched enough people’s hearts to make sure that Paul was supported by as much as he required. How else do you think God is going to make sure that people get to know about Him? He was in no doubt that God was being this all because he was able to continue in God’s Work and that is why he wanted to remind them just how much we do need to trust in God for everything.

As long as we are more like Paul and keep our goal set on God’s Work then we can be sure that He is going to provide for us to do that. We may have to put up with many things on the journey but we can be sure that His will be done! If we are not the ones that are looking for support then maybe we should be the ones giving the support just as the church at Philippi was doing. They were in a position to be able to support Paul as he went preaching and teaching. It did not mean that they had to leave home and go and work by his side but just to be able to send him a bit of support now and again so that he could keep up God’s work.

Giving to missionaries should be a great part of every church because without missionaries going out and taking God’s Word to those people who would not get to hear it otherwise. It is just one way through which God spreads His Word. How else would there be churches in each of our areas if it were not for someone who came to your area some time ago?

Points to Ponder:
Do you know any missionaries?

Are you willing and able to help support them for God?