23rd May, 2022.

FELT NEED VS REAL NEED

1Tim 4:8 For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come. KJV

Several years ago, I received an invitation to preach in a program. After the program, my host told me to pray for a lady. I prayed for her and by God's grace, she got her miracle. Seeing the hand of God in her life, she introduced her friend to me for prayers. This lady wanted me to join her in prayers for a life partner. I agreed but I decided to probe into her life as led by the Spirit of God. I needed to know certain things about her before committing myself. In our discussions, I discovered that her values for sexual purity was totally anti bible. She was sexually active in a relationship with a guy and she didn't see anything wrong about it. She wanted me to pray for her so that this guy will marry her. In our discussions, she didn't see anything wrong with cohabitation as well. Anytime I try to talk her into what the scriptures says, she doesn't pay much attention. She wasn't interested. What she wanted was marriage and nothing more but I saw a need greater than marriage. She cut off from me.

Her felt need was marriage but by reason of insight, I knew her real need was godliness. Probably, she thought about her age and the proverbial biological clock that was ticking. Her desperation for marriage was totally ungodly. After sometime, I saw her heavily pregnant in her wedding picture on facebook. I wasn't surprised because she saw nothing wrong in that. She got what she wanted- marriage. Most times, our felt needs are those needs that gives instant gratification but our real needs are those things that we need to be properly established in life and destiny. There are many singles who major on the minor and minor on the major. They think their need is a mate. Yes, it could be but there's something much needed than a mate yet undiscovered. What if God gives you your dream spouse today, do you have the character to sustain that marriage? Have you built a strong value system for fidelity in marriage? Do you have financial discipline to run and maintain a home? As a single, it won't cost God anything to grant your felt need, probably a spouse, but it will cost God time to process you for your real need because the actualization of your real need will sustain the realization of your felt need.

Dearest "Mr&Mrs", you may not be enjoying your marriage. You may wonder why your home has become a fighting arena. You both may have gone to God in prayers to restore peace. Counsellors may have been consulted to mediate yet without result. Take your time to discover what your real need is. In scriptures, I discovered the real need that will profit us all for life that now is( marriage inclusive) and for the life to come. Godliness is our real need. If we get it right here, we'll get it right in everything. This is simply because the bible says in 1Tim4:8, "... Godliness is profitable unto all things,..." Often, we love to hear people teach us things like "Seven Tips For Getting The Right Spouse", "The ABC of How To Make Your Marriage Work". While those "tips" are good, there's something better. It is called "Godliness". It is God's prescription for a life of peace and joy. It is God's eternal principle for profiting in life. Man can run his life on methods but will never run life as intended by God without God's principle of Godliness in place. In the kingdom, we rise through godliness, men will crash without it.