Philippians 4:19 — But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:19 is a verse that echoes in my mind so often. “My God”, Paul says. He’s not talking about the God he owns, of course. The idea would be ridiculous. But I don’t think he’s saying “the God I happen to believe in” either. There is only one God. Paul didn’t believe in “the one of the God’s I believe in”. He believed in GOD. No, He’s saying the same thing as “Our Father” expresses in the Lord’s Prayer. He’s saying “God, who is mine because I have an intimate relationship with Him, will meet all your needs”. If that promise doesn’t excite you, I’m not sure what it would take.
God will supply all your need. The thought came back strongly to me this morning as I read God’s instructions, in Exodus, for the building of the tabernacle. He didn’t say to the Israelites “Here’s the sort of design I have in mind and you’ll have to find the stuff as you go along.” No. He said, “You’re going to need scarlet and blue thread, linen, goats hides, rams hides, Gold, silver, bronze, skilled workmen …” I might have missed a few things. And He wasn’t sending them off on some kind of treasure hunt. He had made sure that they were fully supplied for the task. There’s a lesson there. If our task is from God, we can be sure that the materials will be available to get the job done. We shouldn’t necessarily expect every need we can think of in our life to be covered by this promise. Just like the Israelites, Paul was engaged in God’s work. It it’s God’s work, it’s covered.
There’s another side to this understanding. If the resources are not on hand, or there’s no reasonable way to get them, it may well be that you’re looking to take on a job that The Lord has not planned for you.
When it came to building the tabernacle, all the materials were on hand. If they had not been, it would have been a sign that it wasn’t the right time to be building. Jesus was pretty clear about that. When talking about the cost of discipleship He said “For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it ? Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him, saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish.” (Luke 14:28-30) The master carpenter was not impressed by poor preparation!
The last thing that came to mind today as I thought on this verse was the significance of “in glory”. It’s often connected only to “riches” … That’s not right. It applies to the whole sentence. God is in a glorious kingdom, and Jesus is there with Him. It is from there, at the right time, that He will supply all your ministry needs, because if He’s giving you work to do, He’s your God too!