Do You Need A Starving

In church yesterday the preacher shared a story of H.A. Ironside. He used the text Phillipians 4:19; "But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus." In this true story of Ironside, through a series of events, he ended up away from home a penniless preacher sleeping in a rail car. Hungry and tired, trying to sleep he began complaining to God, telling Him that He was not fulfilling His Word, that His promise was He would supply all Ironside's needs. Hours later moving to a better spot, he got a little sleep and when he woke up God started dealing with things in his life that he had allowed to slip. He began confessing his wrongs and got to the place where he no longer wondered why God had not supplied for him, but rather he was amazed to think how good God had been to him in spite of his many failures. Later he went to church, and to make a long story short got taken out for a meal and offered a place to stay. When he went to the post office to see if he had any mail he found a letter from his father-in-law which read,"God spoke to me through Phillipians 4:19 today. He has promised to supply all our needs. Some day He may see that I need a starving! If He does, He will supply that." It was then that Ironside realized that God had put Him through that test in order to bring Him closer to Himself and face to face with the things that he had been neglecting. This story really spoke to me. So many times I have heard sermons on this verse. The message always seems to come out, we will never lack, God will give us what we need materially. But the question is......what do we really need? Does God allow trials to happen in our life to bring us closer to Him. Do we bemoan these trials, or complain to Him thinking He is not fulfilling His Word. Maybe some days I need a starving :) So I challenge you. When you are going through a less than ideal time, instead of complaining to God and trying everything in your power to get rid of it, seek God. Maybe there is a reason He allowed this test. Maybe you need a starving. If you are interested in the whole story, Here it is.