Phil. 4:19

And my God shall meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.

I have no problem with the veracity of this verse, I just struggle to work out what my real needs might be! In the story of Job, everything we might consider important is stripped away from his life. He sits in the dust, scraping his sores and grieving his losses.

You would think at that point that Job just needed a bit of encouragement, a sign that things would improve. In fact his greatest need turns out to be the strength and courage to hold on to his faith. In the end of course we know that God blesses Job with an abundance of flocks and family once again. But in the midst of all the bad times, it was faith and trust that carried Job through.

Perhaps our greatest need, a need that can only be met through Jesus, is the need for the faithfulness to hang in there. To hang in there when prayers don't seem to be answered, when encouragement seems far away and when the future looks far from bright.

Paul was in prison, how certain he was that it would end in his death we don't really know. Isn't it a challenge that a man in prison can describe himself as being poured out like an offering and yet in the same letter he can talk about joy fourteen times! Perhaps joy, like contentment is a rare and precious jewel found in the glorious riches of God.