And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of His glory in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19
“A businessman once said, ‘I’ve prospered in my business; now my task is to know how much I can keep for my own use.’ That’s the right order. How much can I keep for myself? For everything I needlessly spend on myself is taken from some other person in need.”
Selwyn Hughes in Divine Mathematics: A Biblical Perspective on Investing in God’s Kingdom (Surrey, UK: CWR, 2004) 25.
Happy new year! My word for the year is needful. My 16 weeks of sabbatical leave starts today. What is a sabbatical? Read my forthcoming Christian Leadership Alliance blog post on the topic here.
Sabbatical time is not about shifting from “normal” to “nothing” but from “normal” to what is “needful.” I am dedicating the first week of my sabbatical to what is most needful right now: seeing my aging parents in Florida. Pray for safe travel and sweet time.
This post seemed fitting as Hughes points us to the unnamed businessman who realized that God supplied for his needs and anything he needlessly spent was taken from someone in need. You could say the unnamed businessman had to determine what was needful.
What about you? Join me in surrendering every minute, hour, and day of 2026 to God. And join me and the unnamed businessman in not spending on needless things, but investing in is most needful, trusting God to supply all our needs while helping meet the needs of others.