It was late in the afternoon when I reached into our refrigerator to take something out and realized it was not very cold. I then checked the freezer section and found our frozen yogurt looking like soup! Yikes!

Quickly we transfered the rest of our freezer items to our stand up freezer (thanking God we had one) and anything else from our fridge that could be frozen. My husband tried fixing it but nothing worked, we needed to buy a new one. Since our stove was 22 years old, we decided we should get a new one of those as well, before it gave up the ghost too. Simple right? Not!

We shuffled half our food that needed refrigeration off to my sons fridge and put the rest in a cooler with ice packs. While it may be fun to use a cooler when you are camping, living out of one at home is not! With a brief review of refrigerator and stoves online, we set off after supper to see what we could find.

After perusing the appliances at 2 major stores we came home overwhelmed, frustrated and empty handed. Things change a bit over 22 years!

The next morning, as we prepared ourselves for the continued hunt amidst the sea of varied refrigerators and ovens, I saw one of our small word magnets on the floor. Picking it up I read the word “need”. I smiled to myself. I knew it was a reminder from the Lord to keep perspective.

There is a struggle for balance of need versus want in our society of materialism. Most often it tips to the side of want as the majority of us living in the Western world have all our ‘needs’ met. Not only are they met but abundantly so and that is when the ‘wants’ become more and more extravagant and we begin to believe we deserve them.

Friends NO ONE in all the universe needs to have billions of dollars!! As my son says,”anyone with over a million dollars has more than they need.”

There are, however, still some in our midst and in other places of the world, who don’t have their needs met or struggle to meet them.

“But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” Matthew 6:3-4 NIV

The Lord says it is our responsibility to help those who are truly needy.

If we have food in our cupboards, clothes in our closets, a warm, safe place to live, an honest job and means of transportaion at our disposal, then we have all our physical needs met. Anything more is wants.

Do I really need the most up to date cell phone, the biggest “smart” TV, the newest and most expensive vehicle? Is it necessary to spends hundreds of dollars on a purse or a pair of jeans? Do I need all the bells and whistles on a fridge and stove or just what I need?

Don’t get me wrong, if you have big families, you need a bigger fridge, bigger vehicle, bigger house; if you are a baker by trade you may need 2 ovens. The point is to pause and think about what we really need!

We may find we don’t “need” as much as we thought and then maybe we will be able to share more with others who do have needs.

“Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.”

2 Corinthians 9:7-8 NIV

Let me just say, I have not perfected this in my own life! It is a constant struggle to fight the mindset and endless bombardment from media telling us differently. That is why we need to be encouraging and reminding each other of what the Lord wants; how he lived, the example He left us.

Because in following Christ we get both; what we need and what we want. He IS sufficient!

We get our need for salvation and our want of love, acceptance, identity and safety all from our loving Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Not only that, God has promised to provide all our needs.

“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” Matthew 6:33 NKJV

Friends, our number one concern needs to be our relationship with God through His son Jesus Christ. When we concentrate on that, our loving Father will provide a way for everything else, so that we can focus on others and their needs. I don’t know about you but I need to be reminded of this daily!

Be well!

Patricia