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An old Quaker advertised that he would give away 40 acres of good farmland to anyone who is perfectly satisfied with what he had. One day, a man seeking the land came up to the Quaker and said, “I would like to have the land.” The Quaker asked him, “Art thou perfectly satisfied with what thou hast?”  “Yes,” answered the man, “I am perfectly satisfied.” “Then,” said the Quaker, “why on earth does thou want this land?” Less the old Quaker never parted with his land, because the only ones perfectly satisfied with what they had were not interested in getting it, and those who want the land weren’t perfectly satisfied. Messiah told us, “if you will lose your life for my sake, you will find it.” And He told the rich young ruler, “if you wish to be complete, go and sell your possessions and give the money to the poor.” It’s a paradox, but it’s true. If you want to be full, empty yourself. If you want to be content, then let go of your wants. For having nothing but God is to have everything-an abundant life and perfect satisfaction. (From Jonathan Cahn’s message 1488) 

When I dedicated my life to serving God and becoming a Christian, one of the hardest things I had to learn, and am still working on, is distinguishing between my needs and my wants. Being raised Quaker for the first 25 years of my life this subject was always in the forefront of our training. We were taught to live a simple lifestyle. In my opinion, this both helped and hurt me in the long run. When you live a very simple and uncomplicated life is a lot easier to deal with everyday situations. On the other hand, when I got out on my own I felt totally deprived and empty from all the stuff everyone else had. I have now learned how to combine the two sides that have resulted in the lifestyle I currently have. I was once told, “it is not what you have but it is what you do with what you have”. God promises to meet our needs. He knows our every need, even before we can ask Him for it. He is good and gracious to provide for us all that we need so that we can live a life for His glory. We must remember that God created us and the world, so therefore everything actually belongs to Him. We are only stewards of everything in our world including family until we go to judgment. If we were truly the owners we would be able to take it with us but we can’t. 

Matthew 6:31. 

“Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’

32.  “For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33.  “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. 

34.  “So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own