How God uses needs in our lives.

The last few weeks have been difficult for me. I have run out of food on several occasions though I have still had something to eat every single day (once God's provision for that day was revealed to me).

I have less than a dollar to my name. And all forms of paid work have dried up.

I have tried to find work at local restaurants and although some have had some promising potential, no one has hired me yet (a 51 year old with a bad back and wobbly if not bad knees and having been self employed for most of the last ten years).

Last week I even went walking around looking at cactus fruits to see if I could gather enough to fill my hungry belly. I tried to find some dandelions too since they are edible as well but found none other than by the side of roads which make those particular one's not such a good idea to eat (since they are full of car exhaust pollution).

And my faith has been tried and tested once again.

I mean how can God, GOD, not sell one of his cows to provide for me? How can God be glorified by my having started down the road to looking in garbage cans to see if I could find some cans to make enough for a loaf of bread?

I did not actually actively start looking in garbage cans yet but yesterday I would have started were it not for God's provision showing up at the last minute.

And that is what this post is about. It is not about my needs which are fully met once again as of right this moment. But rather this post is about, not just how God continues to provide for me (I've said that plenty of times before) but now even more about how the Lord uses needs in our lives at times to move us in the direction He wants for us and more specifically how He used my need for food to get me to do something I would have never done otherwise.

Go to a Sunday church service where he used a brother in the Christ there powerfully in my life to break through some strongholds I was being held in bondage to.

There is so much I could say about all this. Enough to write a small book.

But let me start with yesterday. I was out of food (except for some little mints that I had desperately munched on to avoid hunger pangs that had come upon me). There was nothing through which I even saw the slightest hope of God providing for me. I began to wonder if God was real. I was confused about what to do.

While I was contemplating my next move the new tenant here, a Christian lady, asked me if I would join her in a going away party being put on by some of her old neighbors. That she didn't quite feel comfortable going by herself and there would be food there. Well...it didn't take any arm twisting for me to say yes when I heard the part about food LOL (no one other than God knew a thing about my need for food).

But the food that was there was not what I expected at a typical North American get together. A couple of chips and dip, maybe some crackers and cheese. That sort of thing. What I walked into was an all out smorgesbord of Philippino food and cooking. Like you wouldn't believe.

Chicken and potatoes with red peppers. Chow mein like noodles with all kinds of stuff in them. Philippino soup. Philippino teas. Egg rolls. Meat rolls. Shrimp rolls. Soy and vinegar sauces. Coke. Fried banana dessert. Rice. On and on it went.

Food item after food item. I was in food heaven!

And the food was not a one time deal as in you sit down and eat lunch or dinner once. It was an all day affair. As food got low the wonderful hosts just kept on cooking and replenishing the food available. We ate lunch, hung out and talked, played kareoke, snacked, and then ate some more around dinner time. Food and drink and as much as my heart desired throughout a get together that lasted all of about 6 hours when all was said and done.

A rolling feast. An all day feast. As much as I wanted.

God's provision!

But I need to back up just a bit. The Thursday before God's provision for me that day (I had run out of food that day too) had taken the form of another invitation coming out of the blue where I had gone to a home bible study and potluck. I had eaten pot roast and other scrumptious food that day too.

But more importantly I had started to interact with the Christians again.

You see in general I have gotten to the place in my life of seeing most Christians, indeed the majority of them, as just so many hypocrites. Like the last people on Earth I want to have anything to do with.

Religious folks who don't know the meaning of the word faith and who are living for themselves and have little of any interest in truly following in the footsteps of Jesus.

But in line with my continuing need for food I had decided to go to church this morning to try and connect with the Body of Christ somehow with a view to asking around to see if anyone could trade me food for some computer work. I had not and do not want a hand out but I knew that in New Testament times the Lord used the Body to meet needs and figured that I would at least make myself available to connect with members of His Body through which He might provide for me somehow.

So I went to church this morning. The service was typical of a Sunday church service. The singing was great. The sermon? Well...let's just say that the pastor spoke about something that to me was just Christian common sense. Not the kind of thing I want to continually sit through Sunday after Sunday.

After the service as I milled about a brother approached me and we started talking. I openly spoke about my views of church in general. How I just didn't see myself fitting into His Body at least in North America.

The Lord began to work through our conversation. I began to realize that even the confession of the statement that I can't fit into His Body was wrong. Completely wrong thinking.

I AM a member of His Body. I belong to His Body just as His Body belongs to me. In Christ I AM one with His Body just as He is one with me.

On and on the Lord continued to work.

At one point I started to bawl like a baby. Right there in the foyer of the church as this brother talked and prayed with me.

My knees began to wobble. It was like something out of the book of Acts. With God's Spirit working mightily in the interaction between us.

Mind you this brother, his name was Steve, was not a recognized pastor or "Mighty Man of God" type of thing. Just a brother in Christ who chose to be obedient and to express what the Lord was laying on his heart for me.

And who loved me enough to hang out and talk to me right there for an hour.

What an absolutely awesome experience of God that was.

Afterward, to make a long story short, my ride reminded me of my previous desire to stop behind Ralphs to look for bread they put out once in a while and though I had barely found anything there for over a week...today...there was food galore!! I am talking about bread, fancy cakes, croissants, and all kinds of baked goods. All for the free taking! God bless Ralph's.

Just before I saw all that food the Lord seemed to indicate to me within my spirit that such a stash of free food would be there.

It was like the Lord had accomplished what He wanted through my need (to get me to meet with the Christians again culminating in the powerful encounter I had at church) and now that such a thing had happened He had opened the floodgates of heaven to pour out a further blessing of food upon me.

Like I said there is so very much more than what I have shared here. The above is piecemeal in small snippets of thoughts that come to my mind.

But I have had my eyes awakened to how the Lord uses even the needs in our lives to accomplish His ultimate purposes for us.

Today I am so very thankful for the hungry times. For the times when it felt like God had seemingly abandoned me. He had something so much better in store for me than just food. The far superior and greater blessing was the experience of His wondrous Presence within the Body once again. I can honestly say that I would go through it all over again for another such touch from Him.

And He used my need for food to slowly, lovingly, direct me into further contact with the Christians.

The problems with Sunday Church going are still present. The church is still but a shadow and a very poor imitation of Jesus Christ in our day and age. The church still contains many self-centered hypocrites.

But I know the Lord is with me, that He wants to use me, and that He has some wonderful things in store for my life. That there has been purpose to the seeming madness that my life has seemed to be at times. That His hand has been upon my life to do me good and to ultimately lead me to the center of His will.

And that His Body WILL rise up to be what He has called it to be. One Christian at a time.

Carlos