God Gives "All Things"
By Dennis Pollock
In the Book of Romans, Paul gives us a reason to be encouraged. He declares:
He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? (Romans 8:32)
Paul is declaring that since God loved us so much to give us His very best, His own Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, how will He not also give us, not a few things, not some things, but all things. So, what are the "all things?" Paul is not telling us that every whim we may have, every greedy desire that may capture our hearts, and every urge of our flesh will be instantly fulfilled, or even gradually fulfilled. We cannot snap our fingers and make luxury cars instantly appear in our garages or expect that our modest homes will magically turn into multi-million-dollar mansions. Don't waste your time dreaming that God will supernaturally transform your bank account balance from a few hundred dollars into a few billion dollars overnight. Not happening!
What Paul is talking about here is that in Christ we will receive all things that we need to fulfill God's plan for our lives. We cannot compare what God gives us with what God gives to others. The point of this is that although you may not receive as much as someone else, you can be sure that if you abide in Christ, you will receive every single thing that you need to fulfill the purpose and plan of God for you – all the anointing you need, all the wisdom you need, all the skill you need, all the opportunities you need, all the money you need – everything necessary for you to live out the life God has planned for you from the foundation of the world will be given you. Even the spouse we end up with and the friends that come into our lives are a part of this "all things" promised to God's children. Understanding this, when we experience a need or some lack that appears to be blocking us from achieving what we know God desires for us, we pray with confidence and faith, knowing that we will eventually receive all our genuine and legitimate needs. Jesus puts it this way: "If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you." (John 15:7)
Imagine your first day on the job, working for a major U. S. corporation. You are shown into a room where people are busy working at computers and making phone calls. But you are led to a bare corner of the room. You ask about your desk and are told there is no desk for you. "What about a computer?" No, you will not be getting a computer. You ask if someone will be training you, and you are told, "No, you'll have to figure that out on your own." So, you stand in the corner of the room with no desk, no computer, no chair, and without a clue about what you are supposed to be doing. Any employer who would do that to their new employees would not last long. It would be incredibly stupid not to equip their employees with all they need to do their jobs well.
Unarmed and Untrained
Imagine joining the army in a time of war. They do not give you any weapons, or a uniform. They do not train you at all. Immediately they throw you into battle, and when you ask, "What am I supposed to do?" They tell you to find some rocks on the ground and throw them at the enemy. That army's loss would be guaranteed.
God is not a foolish employer. He is a very wise employer, and when He saves men and women, adopts them into His family, and gives them their assignments for His service, you can be sure that He will give them "all things" necessary for them not only to be able to serve Him well but to live reasonably comfortably and enjoy the new life in Christ that He makes possible.
Years ago, God impressed me that He wanted me to get into the production of videos, and to post them on YouTube. I ended up with two separate YouTube channels, one connected with teaching the Bible and the other related to overcoming diabetes. Later He moved on my heart to also include podcasts, which are usually audio-only Bible teachings.
So Much to Learn
There was a lot I did not know. Although I had been involved with Christian television regularly for a season, I simply came onto the set and, when the crew was ready, I started to speak. I knew nothing about camera setup and lighting, and very little about video editing and audio editing. I had a lot to learn, and I knew I needed far better equipment than what I had. I could not make quality videos with cheap cameras and no microphones.
My first step was to watch videos on YouTube about how to make videos. I learned a great deal about video production, the kinds of cameras necessary, and proper lighting. I devoured videos about audio – what kinds of microphones were best, what was the difference between a condenser microphone and a dynamic microphone. I began making purchases: cameras, lavalier microphones that clip on your shirt, dynamic microphones, pencil microphones, and large diaphragm condenser microphones. I watched video after video about how to edit videos and audio files. I experimented, I tinkered, I tweaked. I watched many videos about how to use a green screen and substitute one background for another.
And I got better. Eventually, I had the cameras, the mics, and the lights I needed to make good videos. I had enough skill that almost nobody complained about the quality of my videos or my audio. They sometimes disagreed with the points I made or the things I said, but rarely did they say, "Dennis, your videos are of such poor quality, you ought to be ashamed of yourself."
And in time I came to realize, "I have everything I need to do what Christ has called me to do." God, who gave us His Son, the Lord Jesus, for the salvation of our souls, had given me "all things" I need to serve Jesus while on the earth. Now if a Hollywood producer came to my house and looked over my equipment, he would not be impressed. He might look at my little cameras and laugh, saying, "You call those cameras? Those are junk. We spend a half million dollars for our cameras.” And then he might say, "Let's see your microphones." And when I show him my little 100 and 200-dollar mics, he might find that a hoot. "What pieces of junk these are! I wouldn't use these to record my dog barking at night."
Enough for Me
By his standards, I don't even begin to have the equipment I need. And this would be true – if I were going to make movies with budgets of hundreds of millions of dollars. But of course, that's not what I do, or ever intend to do. For what I do, which is to stand or sit in front of a camera, and talk about diabetes or teach the Bible, the equipment I have is perfect. I truly have all I need to serve Jesus in the calling that He has ordained for me.
In prayer, sometimes, I thank the Lord that He has truly supplied me with all that I need. You can never compare yourself to others and say, "Do I measure up to them?" But what you can ask is this: "Do I have enough to do very well what the Lord has assigned me to do?" And in my life, producing videos for teaching the Bible and diabetes education, and producing podcasts for our Discover the Word podcast, the answer is a big fat yes!
This is not just true for me. This should be the case for every follower of Christ. You may not start there. You may feel like you barely have enough to scrape by. You may feel you need a lot before you are truly "fully equipped for every good work." But give God time. He will equip you, He will prepare you, He will supply you, He will anoint you, and He will open doors for you. Just keep abiding in Jesus and trust that all that you need is on the way and will arrive in its perfect time. The apostle Paul wrote: "And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:19)
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