On Being a Needy Girl

Nobody wants to be seen as needy.  In our society, we pride ourselves on our independence and our ability to be successful and to hold our heads up high, whether or not we have anyone to support us and to do life with.  We use the word “needy” to describe people who are desperate, clingy and attention-seeking.  We perceive “needy” people as weak and vulnerable.  And nobody wants to be that girl.

It dawned on me the other day…I am needy and so are you.  We all have deeply felt needs, longings and desires buried in the depths of our hearts.  I am writing from the experience of being a woman, so this quote from the book Captivating by John and Stasi Elridge really struck me as profound.  They write, “We think you’ll find that every woman in her heart of hearts longs for three things: to be romanced, to play an irreplacable role in a great adventure and to unveil beauty.  That’s what makes a woman come alive.” Aren’t these words so true?

The problem is not that we have needs and desires.  It is in where we go with our needs and in who we rely on to fulfill them.  We tend to rely on other people to satisfy these longings.  However, people are fickle, here one day gone the next.  People will always let us down.  It’s just human nature.  Entrusting the wrong people with our dreams leads to deep sense of brokenness and hopelessness.

The truth is that God purposely designed us with these longings to point us towards himself.  God desires to romance us and to pursue us.  Think about it.  When the world was dead in its sin, Jesus showed up on the scene as our knight in shining armor and laid down His life for us, just so that a relationship with us would be possible.  In Song of Songs 8:6-7, God’s love for us is said to be as “strong as death” and His jealousy for us as “unyielding as the grave.”

God desires to have us play a role in the adventure of a lifetime with Him.  We get to share in God’s mission to “seek and to save that which is lost” Luke 19:10.  In Christ, we see our true beauty.  We are told that we were “fearfully and wonderfully made” by our creator in Psalm 139.  And even more than that, we are told that we are constantly being transformed as we go throughout our journey. As it says in 2 Cor. 3:18, “And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another.  For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.”

 My challenge to you today is to dive deep into your heart and recognize the areas where you dream, and have longings, and desperately need something more.  Bring those desires to the one who will “meet all your needs according to the riches of His glory in Christ Jesus” (Phil 4:19).

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