One of the greatest misunderstandings many Christ followers have is believing constantly being in need is a bad thing. This is a wrong belief system. God invented needs. God Himself has needs. God created needs for the purpose of getting closer to Him and allowing us to get close to others. It is our immature and broken parts that keep us from needing God. God Himself has a need to be connected, even within the three-part Godhead. The Trinity is a clear example of the connectedness and perfect relationship only God could design. God the Father had a need and asked Jesus to do what He needed to be done. When Jesus was leaving the Earth, after doing what His Father had asked of Him, He also had a need. He requested the Holy Spirit to go to Earth and meet this need, and He did. All of these requests were met in the safety of relationship, binding love, and a desire to be connected. Jesus had a need, the Father had a need, and the Holy Spirit had a need, all of them working together in perfect relationship to complete a perfect purpose.

(Authors Townsend and Cloud have written much on this topic if you desire even greater insight.)

The first need we will look at is the need for BONDING. We all need a constant message that we belong. From the moment our little feet touched this Earth, we were wanted, we belonged, we were home. Some of us never received this message and those who raised us did not provide an atmosphere of love and connection; this is extremely heartbreaking. You were born with a need that was never properly met. There is hope for you. The Bible says that Jesus came for the brokenhearted. He was also sent to tell us that we belong. So now, as an adult, the Holy Spirit is sending you a message on a daily basis, reminding you that you belong and that you are no longer alone.

Though we belong to God, it doesn’t mean we are controlled by Him. There is freedom in God’s love, without control. Our Father has given us freedom to own our own lives and to lead them as we wish. He lovingly invites us to live close to Him and give our lives to Him wholeheartedly but never in a controlling manner.  Control is not love, and is motivated by fear, and the Bible says, “Perfect love casts out fear.” This brings us to our second need: SEPARATENESS. As soon as we are connected and know we totally and irrevocably belong, we need to learn the value of separateness as well.