Just Write A Check!

“J

ust write a check, daddy!”  As a child, this was my solution to any financial difficulty facing my family!  Now, you have to understand that my definition of a financial crisis varied greatly from my dad’s definition.  For me, a financial crisis arose whenever I wanted something and my dad told me I couldn’t have it because we didn’t’ have the money to spend every time I saw something I wanted. 

Now, for a six-year-old boy, this just simply didn’t compute.  I was very observant and I had noticed that every time my parents purchased something, they wrote a check for it. When we bought groceries, mom wrote a check.  When we bought clothes, she wrote a check.  When dad got the car repaired, he wrote a check.  Honestly, I can’t remember my parents making a purchase without writing a check.

So, I simply applied the same principle when I wanted something.  I figured as long as mom and dad had checks, there was money in the bank.  I mean, how hard could it be?  All you had to do was fill out the check, sign it, hand it to the cashier, and walk away with whatever you wanted.  It was a great system and one I learned easily.  Checks equaled money and as long as you had a check, you had an infinite supply of the green stuff to purchase whatever it was you wanted.

In his letter to the Philippians, Paul addressed the truth that God has unlimited resources.  Philippians 4:19 reads, “And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.” There are two distinct lessons we must learn from this brief passage of scripture.  First, Paul tells us that God will meet all our needs.  Please pay attention to that little word need.  So often as God’s children, we come to Him with a list of wants and we present them as needs.  God knows the difference!!  His promise is to meet our needs, not our wants.  Like children in a toy store, we are convinced we need everything we see.  However, just like a loving parent, God never gives us everything we see, He only supplies what we need.

The second truth is that God’s supply of resources is infinite!  No matter how great our need is, no matter how impossible it looks, and no matter how overwhelming, God has the resources to cover it!  God’s resources are found in His son, Jesus Christ, and are backed in full by the blood he shed to save all of us from our sins.  I don’t know about you, but when I look at all the things I do on a daily basis that aren’t pleasing to God, I am amazed at the price He was willing to pay to claim me as His own.  Whenever I need something, God always provides it, perhaps not the way I imagined and perhaps not in the time frame I desired, but He always comes through, no matter what.

There is one last illustration I believe will be helpful for us today.  The times my dad told me no were always times when I let my wants get out of balance, confusing them with my needs.  If I needed something, I got it.  I never went hungry, I was never cold, I always had a bed to sleep in, and I always had clothes to wear!  Mom and dad always wrote a check for our needs and we were never in want. 

T

hey also wrote checks for things I couldn’t see.  These checks took the forms of hugs, laughter, tears, conversations, walks, and time on the front porch!  These were all needs and the checks never stopped coming.  My parents’ supply of love and support was and is measureless.  How much more measureless is God’s supply in Christ Jesus!  His love will never run out, His concern for us will never diminish, and His ability to care for us will never be depleted. God writes checks for us all the time! Are we cashing them?