need

Before putting on her shoes in the morning, a Jew prays, "Blessed are You, God our God, Ruler of the universe, Who makes for me all I need." This statement - that God provides all we need - is amazing. The prayer doesn't say that God gives us everything we want, just that the clothes we wear should be enough for today. Our needs are fulfilled by God, if only we take a moment to notice. We pray to remember that the basics of food, a home and companionship are already in place.

As Jesus says in the sermon on the mount (Matthew 6), "See the lilies of the field, how they grow: they do not work or make thread, but I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not dressed like one of these. And if God gives clothing to the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, won't God dress you much more, O you of little faith?. . . Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself."

In God's world, we are loved, clothed, and protected. I know that many people are hungry, even starving. Others even live in war or as refugees. I admit that their needs are not met, and their desires are crushed. But too many of us live in comfort and still strive beyond. If only we had the faith to admit that God's world can give all that we need.

We have wants and lusts that take us far beyond our basic needs for food, shelter, and company. It's these wishes that trip us up every day. The Talmud reminds us, "Who is wealthy? He who is glad in his lot." Real satisfaction comes from this place of appreciating what you have and not constantly seeking more. All the other greed for wealth, fame and power is just perversion. We are tortured by longing for things we don't need.

Real faith shows what God provides: air, mountains, forests and seas full of the essentials for life. God's world even has beauty beyond our very needs: years ago, I saw an cricket's wing with flaming blues and reds that no human could paint. In fact, one tradition says that when doubters asked Muhammad to perform miracles, he showed them the sunset and birds' songs. Sometimes the simple purr of a cat can remind us that we live in a miraculous world. A world that meets all of our needs.