Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else?
Tyndale House Publishers. (2015). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Ro 8:32). Tyndale House Publishers.
I’ve had some rough days at work recently, and this verse really reminds me what life is all about. It’s not about job titles or income. It is about the God who gave up His Son for us. If He will do that, He will fulfill whatever needs we may have.
It is not enough to see Jesus on the cross and expect our needs to be met. Paul is not writing about expectation but about trust. We trust that He will give us good things because He is good. We trust that He will give us the right things because He knows our path. We trust God with every breath and every step because if He gave His Son to die for us, what won’t he do for us?
Yesterday, we talked about how nothing can stand against us. Today we learn that God will fulfill our needs. In this climactic chapter, Paul lays out how good, gracious, and loving God is. These things are there for us to have! All we have to do is repent and turn back to our Creator. Abba, Father. Like the prodigal son, we can run back into His arms. God will not fight our battles and fulfill our needs if we don’t return to Him.
I once knew someone who would read the Bible daily on the YouVersion Bible app. He would also tell people how long his steak was. In addition, he attended worship services at two different churches and worked for a Christian organization. Police investigations later revealed that he was absolutely not right with God. This is where Paul was at prior to the Damascus Road. He didn’t have to worry about a police investigation because the Romans didn’t care enough what people in Palestine were doing to noncitizens. Regardless of a formal conviction, Paul participated in a religiously motivated campaign of home raids, beatings, unlawful arrests, forced transport, imprisonment, death threats, coerced renunciation, and at least possible complicity in murder. In America, Paul likely would’ve been facing forty years to life for his crimes. Both of these examples show how a mask of legalism can hide that we aren’t abiding in Christ. A call to repentance is for all.
Paul was that prodigal son. He returned to the will of the Father. In doing so, he allowed God to use him as the apostle to the Gentiles. You can be facing forty years to life, and just by returning to the Father, He can fulfill all your needs.
It is important that we orient ourselves in a way that allows God to be our top need. When you recognize that you need God more than anything else, you get eternal life, joy, peace, and love. Our world and our bodies will tell us that those aren’t important needs. That is a lie, and those things trying to tell you what your needs are won’t fulfill you. Only God can.
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