By Clay Hallmark
President, Tennessee Baptist Convention
As the Tennessee Baptist Convention president, I have been traveling around the state and asking people these questions: “What is your greatest need? What is the greatest need in your family, ministry, marriage, finances, community or church? Where do you go to have your greatest need met?”
After coming out of bondage in Egypt, the people of God ran out of their food. Immediately, they began to complain and seek worldly solutions to meet their greatest need, which for them, was food. None of the world’s solutions could meet their greatest need.
Then we read in Exodus 16:4, “Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘I am going to rain bread (manna) from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. This way I will test them to see whether or not they will follow my instructions’ ” (CSB).
Have you every really read that passage and thought about the implications of it? In order to live and survive, God’s people had to depend on Him and every day they had to go out in the morning and gather this bread (manna) from heaven that He miraculously provided for them. Life came to them as God daily provided their greatest need.
Clay Hallmark
Is it any different in our lives, homes, or churches today? God desires to meet our greatest needs, but we only find our needs met as we miraculously receive from Him what we need each day.
Real life and the abundant life (John 10:10) promised to us by Jesus are only found as we daily seek God and what He has for us and our lives. In fact, Jesus taught us to pray in Matthew 6:11, “Give us today our daily bread (CSB).” In Greek this speaks of daily, life-sustaining, necessary bread.
As I read this passage of Scripture, a couple of important things stand out to me that I want to share with you about the vital importance of our seeking God on a daily basis. First, there are some reasons we are to seek God daily.
The reason we seek God daily is for the purpose of prayer and communication in worship. Each day we should come before God with prayer as the basis of our lives before God as we worship Him.
No relationship grows or thrives without daily, continual communication. Likewise, what we know is that step one in our WinTN: Winning our Harvest Field steps of revitalization is prayer. Through prayer we are able to worship God and understand His will and purpose for our lives. When we do this, He meets our greatest needs.
Another reason we seek God daily is for the purpose of preparing for corporate worship. God’s people are commanded to not only worship God individually, but also corporately as the family of God. As we daily seek all that God has for our lives, we are preparing ourselves to enter into life-changing worship with the church family so that together we might fulfill God’s mission in our communities and world.
Second, there are some great results of seeking God daily in our personal lives or in our personal worlds. First, by seeking God daily we can experience the presence of Christ in our world. I do not know about your world, but in my personal world I want to see and to sense the presence of the Lord in all that I attempt and in all that I do.
A second result of seeking God daily is the power of Christ in our world. Speaking of Jesus in Philippians 3:10, Paul said, “My goal is to know Him and the power of His resurrection … (CSB).” He also said in II Corinthians 12:9, “But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is perfected in weakness.” Therefore, I will most gladly boast all the more about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may reside in me (CSB).”
I want to see the power of God at work in my life and my church. But I am also praying to see the power of God at work through my life and my church. How about you? A God who is powerful enough to miraculously feed all of His people daily is powerful enough to meet your greatest needs!
The final result of seeking God daily is the provisions of Christ in our world. When I try to provide for my own life in my own little world, I continually fail and fall short.
I do not have the strength or the ability to provide for my own needs, much less my greatest needs. I also do not have the strength or ability as a pastor to provide for the greatest needs of my church.
However, I serve a God who desperately wants to meet our greatest needs as His people. In Psalm 81:10, God promises this: “I am the Lord your God, who brought you up from the land of Egypt. Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it (CSB).”
In Philippians 4:19, Paul gives us his testimony and says, “And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus (CSB).” As we seek God on a daily basis for life, He promises to provide all our needs.
What is your greatest need? I will challenge you today to start seeking God daily for your life like the children of Israel sought daily manna from heaven to stay alive! Let me know how I can help you or if you have any comments at clayhallmark@fbclexington.com. B&R
