And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:19 (NIV)

I’m a child of the ’80s, but some of my favorite childhood memories are of watching the black-and-white movies and TV programs of my parents’ generation together with my family. To this day I am a huge fan of the sci-fi series “The Twilight Zone” hosted by Rod Serling. One of my favorite episodes, titled “What You Need,” first aired on Christmas Day in 1959. In it, an elderly street vendor named Pedott played by Ernest Truex peddles inexpensive items like matches and shoelaces. It soon becomes apparent that the man isn’t just a small-time entrepreneur; he has the gift of prophecy. By looking in a person’s eyes, he can see into his or her immediate future. He then hands the person an object that seems like a random gift at the moment: a bottle of fabric cleaning fluid, a bus ticket to Pennsylvania, a leaky fountain pen. As the story unfolds, each of those objects ultimately plays a pivotal role for the characters the man meets. By the time each recipient realizes that the item was indeed exactly what he or she needed, the man has vanished.

The Bible tells us that the world was in dire need of the Messiah. At the time the Christ child was born, only a limited number of people, including King Herod, knew of his true identity as the Son of God. Most ordinary citizens had no clue of the precious gift in their midst. Their salvation had been handed to them, and they weren’t sure what to make of it.

God knew what His people needed then, and He knows what we need now. He sends people into our lives, carries us to distant places and delivers us into unexpected situations that we later learn were precisely whom, where and what we needed. This Advent season, may we fully and willingly accept the gift of Jesus knowing that no matter how our story unfolds, He is all we will ever need.

Lady Hereford
Writer, University Relations and Marketing, Palm Beach Atlantic University