Debunked: God Needed Him More than You Do
Grief is hard. If you have never walked through the loss of a close loved one you don’t always understand its depths. And so out of our mouths roll phrases like, “God gained another angel,” or, “God needed him more than you do.”
Though we mean well, its not always truthful. I cannot speak of grief as well as my friend Jennifer. She is a remarkably strong woman with an incredible story of love and loss. So today, I invited her to share with you about this phrase and the truth of God’s place in loss.
Jennifer’s story goes like this:
“God Needed Him More Than You Do”
Loss is something that, unfortunately, we will each experience in our lifetime. And despite its universal dispersion, a majority of the population is unsure what to say in those times of grief.
My world was turned upside down on September 21, 2016. My firefighter husband was killed in the line of duty leaving our children and me to redefine our definition of “normal.”
In the time after losing my husband, many people reached out to offer condolences and words of comfort. But what they didn’t realize was that their words, specifically about God, were unintentionally hurtful.
I am a faithful woman of God; I begin and end my days with Him, and I am dependent on His presence and His love.
So, what could possibly be said about God that would be hurtful?
“God needed him more than you do.”
I heard this expression so many times. It’s a common phrase, and I know it’s said with sympathetic hearts, but is it true? Did God really need my husband more than I do? More than my kids do?
The short answer: no.
It’s true, God is very busy up there. He bows down to listen to every heart that calls upon Him, He orchestrates and aligns our lives, and all while making sure the universe is operating in perfect form.
But he didn’t need my husband to help Him.
Scripture tells us that God was with angels long before He created man (Job 38:4-7). Angels were created for a purpose that could never be achieved by human beings because “[God] made [man] a little lower than the angels …” (Hebrews 2:7)
God’s angels are here to serve a specific purpose: to serve God’s people on this side of heaven (Hebrews 1:14).
Throughout scripture, we are shown evidence of God’s angels and proof of their obedience to His commands (Psalm 103:20-21; Daniel 10:4-12; Matthew 1:20-24, Matthew 28:2-7 and more).
And He has legions of angels! More than we could dare to count or imagine.
God established the angels to act as His messengers because what He desires from us is a relationship, not celestial employment.
God didn’t need my husband.
He wanted him.
God has wanted to be with my husband from the moment He breathed life into his soul. God has dreamt about being with your loved one before he/she ever spoke a word.
The truth is, God does need someone.
But it’s not our loved ones who have earned the privilege of eternal worship.
It’s you. And It’s me.
We are the ones that God needs. We are the ones that still have work to be done on this side of heaven.
Jesus gave us a command to continue spreading the good news, baptizing people in all nations, and teaching many to obey the commands of our Lord (Matthew 28:18-20).
The angels have their purpose and we have ours.
Ours is to continue the work of God here on earth so that when He brings us home, it’s not because He needs us, but rather, because He wants us.
And I can’t imagine a better homecoming than that.
Find out more about Jennifer Osler by checking out her Instagram. Give her a shout out in the comments below!
