God Knows What You Need

The gift of gold that the wise men brought has interested me for some time. From their first sighting of the star heralding the King’s birth to them arriving in Bethlehem was anything between two years and two months. We don’t know how much gold was brought, but it must have been substantial, as they knew they were bringing gifts to the long-foretold King.

The timing of it is also significant. Matthew 2:13 makes it clear that, after the wise men had left, an angel appeared to Joseph in a dream telling him to leave for Egypt. What was not revealed to Joseph at that point was the reason why. It was because of Herod’s decree to kill all male children two years, and under, in an effort to get rid of the King that the wise men had come to worship.

So, God sent, via the wise men, a gift of enough gold to sustain Mary, Joseph, and Jesus in a foreign land, well in advance of a need they were completely unaware of. This reminds me how well God knows our every need. We can add to this the fact that God placed Daniel in Babylon around six hundred years before the birth. It was through Daniel that God created the background and knowledge which sent the wise men on their journey in the first place.

God knows what we need before we need it, but that can often mean we completely fail to see God’s plans unfolding in our lives. That’s because His purposes have yet to bear fruit.  Looking back on my own life, I can see God’s plans for my salvation a bit more clearly now. It all started my father being sent from France to Jersey as a prisoner, and then him meeting and marrying my mother, and me being born.

It continued with me visiting a night club I rarely went to and meeting my future wife there. She had been sent there for six months by her employer. In less than three months we had fallen in love, and I came over to England so we could be married. Then she attended a women’s meeting which had a guest speaker from the London City Mission. As a result, we both attended the Mission and heard the gospel for the first time. That led to us both to giving our lives to Jesus six months later.

Today you might be struggling and wondering if God knows what you are going through and if He is aware of your struggles. If He cares, why doesn’t He do something? He has and He will. He has through Jesus, and He will if you place your trust in the God who knows what you need and when you really need it.  In Genesis 16:13, Hagar, expelled into the desert with her son, lost and alone and fearing death, found that God hadn’t deserted her and exclaimed, “You are the God who sees me!” Dear friend, He sees you and loves you and knows your need and will provide – just don’t go looking in the wrong places.