Not long ago, a question popped into my head—one that stopped me in my tracks.

Why do you live like the goal is to not need God?

It felt like a question from God Himself. And I couldn’t deny it. I DO live this way.

Whenever I find myself in desperate need of God, I can’t help but think that I’ve failed because I need Him. That I need to try harder. Be more spiritual. Stop being so needy.

As I processed this unexpected question, the words of Jesus in John 15 came to mind.

⁵ “I am the vine, and you are the branches. If you stay joined to me, and I to you, you will produce plenty of fruit. But separated from me you won’t be able to do anything. ⁶ If you don’t stay joined to me, you will be like a branch that has been thrown out and has dried up. All the dead branches like that are gathered up, thrown into the fire and burned. ⁷ Stay joined together with me, and follow my teachings. If you do this, you can ask for anything you want, and it will be given to you. ⁸ Show that you are my followers by producing much fruit. This will bring honor to my Father.

John 15:5-8 (NLT)

The truth is, I need God every moment of every day. We all do. God created us to be fully reliant on Him—and acknowledging our lack is the very foundation of salvation. It’s no wonder, then, that Jesus speaks to this at the beginning of His famous Sermon on the Mount: “Great blessings belong to those who know they are spiritually in need. God’s kingdom belongs to them.” (Matthew 5:3, ERV)

I love how the Enduring Word Bible Commentary explains the idea of being “spiritually in need,” or “poor in spirit” as it appears in other Bible translations.

The poor in spirit recognize that they have no spiritual “assets.” They know they are spiritually bankrupt. We might say that the ancient Greek had a word for the “working poor” and a word for the “truly poor.” Jesus used the word for the truly poor here. It indicates someone who must beg for whatever they have or get…

Everyone can start here; it isn’t first blessed are the pure or the holy or the spiritual or the wonderful. Everyone can be poor in spirit. “Not what I have, but what I have not, is the first point of contact, between my soul and God.” (Spurgeon)

Source: Enduring Word Commentary on Matthew 5

And that IS where we start, right? We have needs every single day, and being aware of our needs certainly isn’t the problem. It’s going about our days as if we don’t need God to meet them that gets us in trouble.

God is Patient and Loving

Thankfully, God is unbelievably patient and gracious with us when we strive to meet our own needs without trusting Him by letting go of control. Psalm 103:8 (ERV) states this plainly. “The Lord is kind and merciful. He is patient and full of love.”

The moment my mind formed the question—Why do you live like the goal is to not need God?—I felt God’s presence but didn’t feel chastised by Him. Instead, I felt cherished. It was a caring reminder that God loves me enough to nudge me when I live outside of His design. He wants me to need Him. He wants YOU to need Him. Yes, for salvation and eternal life, but also for our lives here on earth, to glorify Him and experience blessings beyond our comprehension.

Jesus Is Life

Needing God also requires an understanding of what Jesus did for us on the cross—another crucial aspect of salvation. Going back to John 15, Jesus specifically calls us to stay joined to Him, not God. Why? Because Jesus is our connection point to God. He willingly endured the punishment of death for our sins to give us full access to God every moment of every day.

Let’s look at biblical proof that Jesus is indeed our source of life.

One chapter earlier, in John 14:6 (NLT), Jesus says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.”

And in John 1:4 (NLT), we read that “The Word [Jesus] gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone.”

Jesus himself puts it this way in the latter part of John 10:10 (NET): “I have come so that they may have life, and may have it abundantly.”

Abundant life.

By needing God and staying connected to Jesus, we are promised a life of plenty and, ironically, a life without need because God is faithful to provide. How do we know?

Jesus says so later in his Sermon on the Mount.

³¹ “Don’t worry and say, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ ³² That’s what those people who don’t know God are always thinking about. Don’t worry, because your Father in heaven knows that you need all these things. ³³ What you should want most is God’s kingdom and doing what he wants you to do. Then he will give you all these other things you need. ³⁴ So don’t worry about tomorrow. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Tomorrow will have its own worries.”

Matthew 6:31-33 (ERV)

And the Apostle Paul makes this statement in Philippians 4:19 (ERV), after experiencing God’s provision for himself: “My God will use his glorious riches to give you everything you need. He will do this through Christ Jesus.”

I know this to be true because I’ve also experienced it for myself.

When I lean into my need for God, prioritize Him over all my other needs, and trust Him to meet those needs, He does. Every time. God never fails to meet me where I am and never makes me feel guilty for needing Him.

Needing God is more than okay. It’s essential. So go ahead and tell God you need Him. Right now. I’ll be doing the same.