Lacking One Thing

"Jesus looked at him and loved him, ‘One thing you lack…Go…and you will have treasure in heaven.” Mark 10:21

This is the story of a rich young ruler who approached Jesus with a heart bent on eternity. The ruler was willing to do anything…well, almost anything. Jesus saw straight into his heart and fully understood that what the man lacked was the willingness to let go of his most precious treasure. The man walked away saddened because he knew that his unwillingness to let go of ‘something’ was his lack. Jesus was asking him let go of his safety net, his position, his future security. There was one piece of the man's heart that kept the puzzle unfinished. Only by the man emptying that spot could God fill in the missing piece providing fullness and wholeness.

I was thinking this morning about what my heart tells me I lack. There are certainly things for which I pray as if they are needs, but what if God doesn’t provide what I lack because I already possess it down the road? What if it is just a matter of timing in my life's puzzle and its already been given to me? What if I am the barrier to receiving my need by not trusting Him for my lack? I love the description from Jennifer Rothschild in Psalm 23 – The Shepherd with Me. She writes, ‘You make Jesus all you need, and then all you need is found in Jesus…you pay more attention to the Shepherd who supplies your needs than you do to the needs themselves. You want Jesus more than you want what you want! You get treasure in heaven when heaven becomes your treasure’ p. 34.

Paul understood what life without lack truly meant. He was shipwrecked, flogged, beaten and imprisoned, and yet he penned the beautiful words of Philippians 4:18. ‘But I have all…I am full!’ He wasn’t rich, wasn't married, and he was forsaken by his people for ‘going and following’ the message of Christ. He didn't care because he trusted God for every single detail of his life.

When we genuinely see God as our fullness we know He will not withhold any provision from us. If what we see as our need is not being met, maybe it is more of our desire. God never withholds true need from us and always desires to bless us. So, hold onto hope in whatever you feel you lack, because one day your testimony will also include the beautiful words, ‘I have all…I am full.’  The puzzle is finished!