Our Needy God

Does God need anything? Theologically we have been taught that God is self-existent, self-sufficient,  and self-sustaining. He is omnipresent, omnipotent, omniscient, and immutable. He is perfect and entirely complete. God doesn't need anything. If that is true, then God doesn't need you. God doesn't need me. Oh yes, He loves us and cares for us and made us. We are designed by Him and are given life by Him. So we need Him. Every moment of our existence is dependent upon Him. I need Him for every breath. I need air and water and food and shelter and there is much research that says I need others. Babies raised with little or no human contact do not flourish; in fact many die. Isolated people do not mature well. We need some kind of companionship. If not we will invent a friend. Perhaps a volleyball named Wilson. We are very needy creatures. But we are often told God does not need anything. Two questions. One, does this jive with Scripture? Two, what are the consequences if we really believe this to be true? 

Before we can proceed we need to define a key term. What does "need" mean? As stated above there are many things that I need. Oxygen, Water, and food, to name a few. God does not need these to exist. In that sense our theology is correct. But need is a broader term. I do not need my wife, Debbie, to exist. Should the Lord take her from me I can still choose to breath, eat, and live. However, after almost 38 years of marriage and 5 years of friendship before that, my life would have a huge hole in it if she were gone. I need her. I need her companionship, her understanding, her love, her council, her affection, her wisdom, and the list goes on and on. When she was in Thailand and when she was at our daughter's for a couple of weeks, I would wake up longing to see her face in the morning. When I came home at night the house was empty, with no one to share my day with or to tell me interesting retail stories from Hobby Lobby. I missed her and, yes, I needed her. I need my children and friends and so many other things on a personal level. My life might go on but it would be incomplete without my wife, my bride and my friends.

God calls Israel His wife. In Jeremiah 3:20 God says Israel is like an unfaithful wife. Israel commits adultery with other gods (See Jer. 3:8, 29:23 and Hosea 3:1 for examples). To commit adultery you have to be husband and wife. The victims of adultery are usually deeply wounded. For the one they are committed to, the one they needed, has been unfaithful. In reference to the assemblies of the New Testament we are told that we are the Bride of Christ. Messiah is the Bridegroom and we are His Bride. It is a picture John is inspired to use in Revelation. Rev. 21:1 says, "Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls ... talked with me, saying, 'Come, and I will show you the bride, the Lamb's wife". In Rev. 22:17 The Spirit and the bride say, "come". Come to the Bridegroom, come all who thirst, come to Messiah. I have performed a few weddings in my time and I have never heard any bridegroom ever say, "You know, I don't really need my bride; just going through the ceremony so I can say I did." Finally, in John 15:15 Yeshua, Jesus, tells the disciples they are no longer servants, they are His friends. You and I are friends of Messiah. We are the friends of God. If the Scriptures are accurate, then God needs me. He needs me so much He came to me, He called me, He died for me, He shed His blood to cover my sin so I could have fellowship with Him, He went to the cross, died and rose again so I can live with Him forever. I mean, it sounds like He really needs me.

But what if I decide that He really doesn't need me? What if I let these thoughts be overshadowed by my theology of God's self-sufficiency? If God doesn't need me, then I don't need to worry about time with Him. I mean, if He doesn't need to talk with me every day why bother Him? If He doesn't really need me why worry about the details of how I live? If He doesn't need me I can't wound Him. Well, maybe I can grieve the Holy Spirit (Eph. 4:30) but I am sure that's not the same as grieving a friend or my spouse, its not like God really needs my companionship. After all, He is God, and we know God doesn't need anything. If God does not need me we have a one sided relationship. I need Him for everything but He needs nothing from me. I have never seen a marriage, a wedding couple, or even friends, where that kind of relationship ever works very well. My God needs me. He needs to hear that I love Him, that He means everything to me. He needs to know I miss Him when I get too busy and that I am sorry for neglecting Him. He needs my time and my attention if this relationship with Him is to grow and to have the depth and intimacy we BOTH desire and need. If this is true with my wife and my friends, how is it any less true with the God who calls me His Bride, the wife of the Lamb, and His friend?

When you wake up tomorrow, before you attack the day, remember this, God needs you. He needs to hear your voice. To know you love Him and want to talk to Him throughout the day. When Debbie went to Thailand she left an envelope with a collection of notes so I could read one each morning. I still treasure those notes. God has given us a whole collection of letters and notes and songs and stories for us to read and be encouraged by His Words. He misses you when you are too busy to read His love letters. He misses you when you are too busy to pay attention to Him. He is wounded and grieved when you act like He doesn't need you. 

He is a needy God. So are you meeting His needs or grieving His heart?