Hi Lento, please share how God has taken care of your daily needs. For me, He supplies only what is sufficient for the day, and uncannily, usually in a 'just-in-time' manner. I have learnt to trust Him more and more because of this. Admittedly, I struggle with the uncertainty of the future, yet I know God is faithful and will always provide a way out. His love for me is evident in His sovereignty and providence.
From a Christian perspective, the distinction between “needs” and “wants” is not only practical but also spiritual.
The Bible teaches that God knows and provides for our “needs”, while our “wants” should be surrendered to Him and aligned with His will.
God has promised to provide what we “need”, the essentials for living and fulfilling God’s purposes. Many times, He has already fulfilled this, before we even ask. In Matthew 6:31-33 (i) the passage emphasizes that God knows our genuine needs and invites us to trust Him.
God is not only concerned with meeting our needs; He also delights in blessing His children in Psalm 37:4 (ii). As we delight in God, He shapes our desires so that what we want increasingly reflects what He wants for us.
“Wants” are not inherently wrong. God often blesses people with things they enjoy; however, Christians are encouraged to ask:
1) Does this draw me closer to God or distract me from Him?
2) Is this wise stewardship?
3) Am I content if God says, “no”?
4) Is this desire becoming an idol?
5) Is this going to glorify God?
By the way, Christians avoid using the word, “uncannily”, just like they would avoid words like “luckily” or “omen”, which sounds like, “random chance” or “fate”. Instead, we can replace them with: God’s blessing, His providence, God’s grace, His favor, God’s hand, His design, God’s sovereignty and His perfect timing!
Hope the above was helpful.
Footnote:
(i) “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your Heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”
(ii) “Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart.”
Dear Lento,
Please share your personal faith stories in this section. Your posts read like they are 100% AI-generated. It is ok to be imperfect and vulnerable, as we are all human and struggling with our sinful nature.
When we share our personal journeys with our Lord Shepherd Jesus Christ, we will encourage other brothers and sisters to also give praise to our God, our deliverer and every present help in trouble.
If you would like to pray together, please let me know as well. I have set up a separate section on this website for that purpose. The prayer requests are not made public and I reply via email in that section.
May God bless you as you walk with Him,
Jin Hian
I am a student in learning God’s Word and I am currently taking a two-month break from my classes, before my new term starts in mid-August.
I have always been encouraged to write my stories by some of my closest friends, and I have always enjoyed reading posts, articles and books published by my friends or people I know personally. I think “writing” is quite a grand legacy to leave behind, but as I walk more intimately with our Lord Jesus, I realize that my effort would be meaningless, if the content of my writing does not draw the readers closer to God at the end of their read.
I like “the mission” of your “valley-of-grace.net” website, as it is quite different from other sites that would invite contributors too. Your articles are heartfelt, and they have encouraged me to pray fervently for you and upholding you together with others I know, who are going through life challenges such as cancer, vascular dementia, and job layoffs. All these happenings, give me a heavy heart, which I would unload on a daily basis to our Lord Jesus.
Thank you so much for letting me know that my posts read like, “100% AI-generated”. Praise God indeed! This means, my writing has improved over the years, and I give God all the glory! In order to write each post, I had to spend more quiet time with Him, reading His Word, and also reading other Christian authors. Probably unlike others, I had to put in extra effort to do “research” to help improve my writing, followed by an overhaul of editing, before submitting.
To date, I have posted 4 writings here, and was hoping that these would be a source of encouragement to those who read it.
“A Heart for God” - I gave credit to Elizabeth Elliot and included God’s Word, as revealed to me.
“The Path of Grace” - I gave credit to G.T. and included His Word, as revealed to me.
“He Speaks” - I wrote about my experiences with God in my journey with Him, and included God’s Word as revealed to me.
“A Daily Beginning” - I gave credit to C.S.Lewis and included His Word as revealed to me. My experiences came from my Christian friend who always acclaimed, “Luckily!” and my Christian sibling who used the word, “Omen” when we had an unexpected visitor in our home recently. Both incidents happened within last month, which the Holy Spirit reminded me that “our tongue matters”. I recently read a book, “Change Your Words Change Your Life” by Dustin Barker. He emphasized Proverbs 18:21, “The power of life and death is in the tongue.”
Thank you for allowing me to share my stories here. Instead of focusing on the challenges in my life, I have started to focus on the promises of God, and I am still learning to appreciate flowers in the valley, and His silent stream there.
“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.” Psalm 23:4
Dear Lord Jesus, thank You for Lento and for his/her willingness to testify of Your goodness and love through his/her sharing. Please use him/her to bless others, just as he/she has been blessed by You. May every Word of the Spirit spoken and written by Lento not return to You void, but accomplish the purpose for which it was sent. Thank You for encouraging me through Lento's sharing. I pray this in Your precious name, Lord Jesus. Amen.