My Supply

"For I know that this shall turn to my salvation through your prayer, and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ," Philippians 1:19 (KJV)

"and not holding fast to the head, from whom the entire body, being supplied and held together by the joints and ligaments, grows with a growth which is from God. " Colossians 2:19

I bet we've all sung at least one song in church, or heard one on the radio that talks of God being our supply. We've probably heard it dozens of times, and never really thought twice about it. But what does it mean? The dictionary states that supply is to complete, compensate for, to fill up, complete, raise(a military unit or crew) to its full complement, and substitute. In a sense, it is the Holy Spirit which completes us. It is the Holy Spirit which fills us up to our full potential. Now, let me share something that I read this past weekend. It's a simple observation that I never noticed, or really payed attention to. Here's the passage in Matthew where John the Baptist baptises Jesus.

"Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. But John tried to deter him, saying, "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?"

Jesus replied, "Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness." Then John consented.

As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased." Matthew 3:13-17

Here it is again in Luke:

"When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: "You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased." Luke 3:21-22

Jesus had lived 30 years of his life as a man, a person like you and me. After he was baptised he began preaching and doing miracles, but it wasn't until after the Spirit had descended upon him. The Holy Spirit descended like a dove, lighted on him (meaning touched) and after that, Jesus had his supply and his source for preaching the Word of God- AND doing miracles and healing the sick. The Holy Spirit completed Jesus.

It is the Holy Spirit who completes us, he is our supply. Some versions of the Bible translate the word supply to nourishment. That adds a different layer of meaning in my mind,because nourishment, in the physical sense, is what sustains us. It's what gives us our health and our energy, essentially our life. Without nourishment we will wither and fade away, and eventually die.

We too can be like Jesus. We can allow the Holy Spirit to descend upon us and complete us. It is the Holy Spirit who will give us what we need, when we need it. After the Spirit came upon Jesus, he was tempted by the devil in the desert. But with the Holy Spirit there to complete him and bring the right scripture to mind at the right time, Jesus resisted temptation. Now that is something I like to think of. The devil knows us so well, and knows just the right things to tempt us with, but the Holy Spirit will enable us to resist those temptations be recalling the right verses to mind at the right time.

May the Holy Spirit continue to fill me up and be my supply. For without His sustenance and nourishment, I am nothing. And I don't want to be nothing.