Paul wraps up his letter to the Philippians with perhaps the most significant promise in the entire letter. And it is worth noting that this comes as the conclusion of this section on giving.
You can find this passage in Philippians 4:19-20:
In the previous verses, Paul has given considerable attention to the gifts that the Philippian believers had sent to him. In doing so, he has given us some significant teaching on giving, tithing, and being generous with our resources. In verses 17-18, Paul lists several areas in which God is seeking to pour out his blessings upon those who give faithfully. And in the verses before that, he praises the Philippian church for being so consistent and persistent in their giving.
Finally, here, he wraps up this instruction on giving with an incredible statement: “And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.”
Though it seems simple, this short statement carries some significant truth about how God responds to our faithful giving.
God extends his personal care over you.
God has already made some decisions in heaven for us when he sees our hearts concerning giving. God has already decided some things that are going to affect you and me this week. Things that have to do with paying the bills. Things that have to do with caring for our families. Things that have to do with you and me being the kind of influence in the community that God wants us to be.
He’s already made some decisions to care for us physically, spiritually, emotionally. Because we are part of his family. When Paul says that “My God will meet all of your needs,” he doesn’t say “My God will meet most of your needs.” Nor does he say “My God will meet some of you needs.” He doesn’t even say “My God will meet the smaller needs.”
No! Whatever it is that you’re worried about today, whatever you’re anxious about, whatever it is that you’re thinking “How in the world are we going to pay for this?” Some of you have stuff going on that ranges all over the map in intensity. You can grab a hold of this verse right here, and say that this is the truth! No matter what your experience is showing you right now, this is the truth! We need to believe that God will meet our needs. God will take care of what we are burdened with.
I will give that to him, because I know that if I try to grab a hold of it, who knows what’s going to happen? So when God says “I will meet all your needs,” then by faith, we say, “Alright. Yes, Lord. I’m going to stand on that.”
And here’s something else it says. It says “God will meet all your needs, according to his riches” not out of his riches. Do you understand the difference?
Out of his riches almost implies that God gives up something. Like, if God had a million dollars, and you needed five, then he’d give you five of his million dollars. Because he’s really rich, right? So he’d actually have five dollars less at that point. But that’s not what this passage says.
It says “according to his riches.” That means, when God gives to us, it is consistent with, it is in accordance with, it is like what God is, which is infinite.
Psalm 50:11 tells us that God owns the cattle on a thousand hills.
Deuteronomy 8 tells us that it is God who gives us the ability to make wealth. So that means that our jobs are a function of what God is doing in our lives.
On and on and on and on the list goes. God has an infinite supply of ways to meet your needs and my needs. Not only that, but this God that we love, this God that we’re looking to and studying and understanding and wanting to have more of, this God is the source of eternal wisdom. Not just lots of wisdom, but infinite eternal wisdom. God has an answer for everything. God has a direction for every path. And so, those are his riches, his wisdom, because I need his wisdom more than I need money. Yeah, I need to pay the bills, but if I don’t have wisdom, then what good is the money going to do? How many of us know people that are filthy rich and totally miserable? We need wisdom from God, eternal wisdom.
Remember Ephesians 1? Where Paul writes of the power that God has for us? Paul describes how God is at work for those who believe, and the illustration that he gives so that we won’t limit God’s power in our lives is incredible. Paul says this power is that… “which raised Jesus Christ from the dead.”
Or look at Romans chapter 8. When God is trying to get our attention, he has to speak pretty direct sometimes. “If the spirit of him, who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies, through his Spirit, who lives in you.”
When God gives us direction, and when God gives us power, things change. But we’ve got to be willing to walk it out.
Are you willing to trust him in this?
Question: Are you willing to trust God in the area of giving and tithing more than you ever have before? What is holding you back from greater trust? You can leave a comment by clicking here.