Are You Trying to Meet Every Need?

Yesterday Reen and I returned from a wonderful week ministering as Life Coaches and speaking at Sandy Cove Conference Center in Northeast, Maryland. The topic was “Stronger Together,” and we truly experienced the joy of being strengthened by God’s eternal family, our family members. What a drink of refreshment for our souls after 18 months of pandemic isolation!

In last week’s blog I explained the first lesson God taught me as a result of a Hodgkin’s Disease diagnosis:

Lesson One: When we take on responsibilities that God never intended for us, we are actually robbing someone else of being in God’s will for his or her life. (Check out last week’s blog on www.yourrefreshedlife.com)

While at Sandy Cove, God gave me the perfect example for the second lesson I am sharing with you this week. Reen and I met with a man who, for many years, had unsuccessfully tried through his own financial resources to help his unemployed son (who was also an alcoholic). He felt it was his responsibility to meet that need, but finally realized this need was not one he himself was meant to carry.

As we asked key questions, he also came to realize that one reason he tried to “fix this problem” on his own was that he didn’t want to be rejected by family members or friends, so hid it.

Next, we shared the verses that gripped my heart as I stopped everything after my Hodgkin’s Disease diagnosis to evaluate what God’s will really was for my life. In Galatians 1:10 we read, “Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.”

I was forced to evaluate the motives for my exhausting, unrelenting lifestyle. Was I doing things because I felt God wanted me to do them? Or was I doing them to please others and gain their approval? We encouraged him to consider the same as he determined what options to do next in this situation.

Finally, we discussed a number of possibilities including an introduction to “Celebrate Recovery.” This very successful ministry found in many local churches provides genuine help for those struggling with addiction. We introduced him to a Pastor who currently administers the program within his church. This man had never heard of it nor had any idea how to learn more. We provided him with the information he needed.

Did we need to solve his problem and personally meet his need or that of his son? No. God used us to direct him to someone who could help him and his son. We were merely conduits of His purpose.

Lesson Two: Be certain to take on a new responsibility only because God has clearly revealed that this is His will for you, not your response to gaining approval from others or avoiding rejection. God may be showing you a need because you are acquainted or affiliated with someone (or an organization) who can best meet the need He’s revealed.

After my diagnosis, God began to show me that too often I felt I had to meet every need I noticed, many of which were never intended for me to tackle. I was simply God’s “go to” person who knew someone else who could more effectively meet the revealed need.

The next time you see a problem in the life of another person, don’t immediately assume it is your job to fix it. Examine your motives. Pray and ask God if He revealed this need to you so you could fill it…or so you could be the messenger and share the need with another.

Possibly the person He selected and who He has prepared could feel inadequate, not know the person in need, or is too busy to stop and hear God’s voice right now… so He uses you to bring that need to their attention.

Count it a privilege that God chose you today to be His messenger. Trust Him to handle it after you’ve done your part. Let Him orchestrate His plan. The response of all involved lies with Him-not you. Give it to Him, let it go, and be at peace.