The Self-Sufficiency of God

In His self-sufficiency, we can find rest in Him and be assured that His blessings and provisions will never run out.

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“The Father has life in Himself.” – John 5:26, NLT


In the previous blog, I shared about “The Self-Existence of God” — that even before the creation of the entire universe, He’s already existed. All life is from God, but His life is not from anybody; He has life in Himself. As God is self-existent, He is also self-sufficient.

SELF-SUFFICIENCY, as defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary, is the ability to maintain oneself without outside aid, assistance, or support.

A self-proclaimed, self-sufficient person living away from his family can say that he’s independent, that he doesn’t need anyone to get through the days of his life. He is confident with his capability to provide his own needs… But this person still needs air to breathe.

He will need food if he gets hungry and water if he gets thirsty. He will need to earn so he can provide himself with some other necessities like clothing and shelter. He cannot say then that he is self-sufficient because he will always be in need of someone or something to survive.

Self-sufficiency is one of The Attributes of God that belongs to Him alone; no created thing or being can ever possess this character. There is only one self-sufficient God — He has no needs. He lacks nothing. He is complete in Himself.


When God created the heavens and the earth and all the living and non-living creatures that are in it and on it, He said that ‘it was good’ (Gen. 1:4, 10, 12, 18, 21, 25). Then He created mankind in His own image (v. 27). He blessed them and made them rule among all the living creatures. Upon seeing all that He had done, He said that ‘it was very good’ (v. 31).

Many still wonder, “Why would a self-sufficient God need to create mankind and the universe?” We may not know the real reason why, but at least we can know that He didn’t need to. He doesn’t need a companion because He is not alone. He doesn’t need helpers because He’s powerful enough. He doesn’t need worshippers because He’s glorious enough. He created us for His own sovereign good pleasure.

Though the Lord doesn’t need us, He loves us. He created us and He redeemed us through Jesus Christ His Son; not for us to fill up whatever is lacking in Him (because there is nothing) but for Him to fill us up with Himself.

He is so gracious to bless us and provide us with all our needs, and in His self-sufficiency, we can find rest in Him and be assured that His blessings and provisions will never run out. How marvelous is that! In times of weakness, He will be our strength. In times of trouble, He will be our refuge (Ps. 46:1). Let us believe in Him, and we will not be thirsty. Let us come to Him and we will not go hungry (John 6:35).

May the knowledge of the self-sufficiency of the Lord help us turn from the exhausting burdens of the world and encourage us to take the easy yoke of Christ as we spend our lives living for the honor and glory of God. He may not gain anything from our worship because He’s great enough and worshiping Him wouldn’t add any more greatness to Him. All the more we will worship, for He truly, gloriously deserves our praise and gratitude. There is none like You, Lord! ❤️

“There is none like You, O Lord; You are great, and great is Your name in might” Jeremiah 10:6, NASB

 

 

This is an updated edition of an article originally published on thegodiknow.home.blog.

Featured Image by Olia Gozha

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About the Author

Wife. Daughter. Sister. Friend. Civil Engineer. Worship Leader. Faith Blogger. Hi, I’m Kath! I’m from the Philippines. And I have this burning desire to know God; and to make Him known. ❤️