If someone asked you to write down what you need to survive, the top three answers would be food, water, and shelter. These three things are vital for your physical needs. However, you also have ultimate invisible needs that must be met for you to thrive in life.
World View
A psychologist, Abraham Maslow developed a Hierarchy of Needs. He created a list of people’s needs to help us understand our invisible needs. His order is listed below.
- Self-actualization: Using abilities and talents, pursuing goals, seeking happiness, parenting, choosing a mate.
- Esteem: Ego, self-confidence, independence, freedom
- Love/belonging: Friendship, intimacy, family
- Safety: personal, health, financial
- Physiological-food, water, shelter, sleep
Although Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs has helped us understand the complexities of people, it only focuses on our physical and mental needs. It doesn’t look at our spiritual side. You can’t separate, ignore, or escape the mental, physical, and spiritual aspects of a person. God created us as a three-part person.
While studying the life and love of Jesus, he helped me see how our spirit, that originates from God, also binds the mental, physical, and spiritual aspects of our human condition. Our spirit is designed to partner with Jesus to be transformed into his likeness on earth and into eternity.
And the God of peace Himself sanctify you wholly, and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Thessalonians. 5:23 NIV
Your Understanding Comes from Your Experiences
Because we all come into this world and experience brokenness without the knowledge of our ultimate needs, our identity in Christ, signs of abuse, or Christ’s exceptional design of love, we do what we know. How your parent’s ultimate needs were met often determines how they met yours. I don’t make this statement to condemn or excuse any mistreatment or abuse you may have experienced. There is no excuse for neglect or abuse.
I truly believe most parents do their best with what they know at the time. However, your parents, and you, can only give what you have. You can only do what you know how to do. Without the knowledge of God and living in the exceptional love of Jesus Christ, you will continue to live in your brokenness and endless striving to fill your ultimate needs.
God’s Design of Our Ultimate Needs
God designed the space for him in your ultimate needs to lead you to Christ and His exceptional love. This space feels like a void until you realize this space provides the drive you need to seek God with all of your heart, mind, and soul. If you don’t know about God’s space in your ultimate needs to feel safe, loved, valued, like you belong, and have purpose you will look to yourself and to others instead of seeking God.
Unfortunately, most people are not taught to seek a personal relationship with Jesus first, which includes God’s answers in His word. Most of us are taught to find our own answers, and to fulfill our own needs, and to be independent of Christ’s reign in our life.
The problem with this guidance is the fact that we are imperfect and we are not God. We’re called to surrender every aspect of our lives to the authority and purpose of God as a disciple of Jesus Christ. When we believe the lie that we can complete what our Creator God designed in us, we are in the sin of pride. The very reason the devil, Adam and Eve, and many people in the Bible were separated from God was over their desire of pride to be GOD.
God’s Design to Fill Our Ultimate Needs Through Jesus Christ
I have shared how the psychologist, Abraham Maslow developed a Hierarchy of Needs and his answers to fulfilling them earlier. To help you see an overview of the difference between the world’s view of how our ultimate needs are met versus how Christ fulfills them, look at the graph I designed below.
In Christ You are Complete
Don’t believe the lies of your past or the devil that you lack in any way as a child of God. God’s truth says,” For out of His fullness (abundance) we have all received [all had a share and we were all supplied with] one grace after another and spiritual blessing upon spiritual blessing and even favor upon favor and gift [heaped] upon gift.” John 1:16 AMP
When you accepted Jesus into your heart, he filled you with ALL of his love, grace, and spiritual fruits even if you didn’t know about them or you don’t feel their abundance. These fruits are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control. The way you live in the abundant fullness of Jesus living in you is by choosing to partner with him. As your relationship flourishes, you will learn how to activate and mature your fruits and gifts.
The closer you are to Christ and living in his will and guidance, the more you will feel him filling the God-space in your ultimate needs. Your fullness in Christ will keep you focused on him. You’ll feel satisfied and empowered to fulfill your unique purpose in God’s grand plan.
Everything you need to feel loved, valued, safe, like you belong, and you are designed with a God purpose is already in you through Christ Jesus. All you have to do is to partner with him and learn how to access, grow, and thrive in his fullness.
Ready to live in Christ’s fullness? Ready to feel loved, safe, and secure? Ready to know that you are priceless and fulfill your unique mission? Then partner with Jesus and learn God’s truth. Let him transform your mind, heart, and life. Only he can fill all your ultimate needs, the way God designed them to be filled in Christ’s exceptional love.
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