How God Satisfies Man’s Needs

ALMOST daily now we are reminded of man’s need of help in solving his problems. “The problems of the day,” observed U.S. News & World Report, “seem at present to be beyond the power of any government to solve.”

Pointing to the desperateness of the world situation, medical editor Dr. Frank J. Ayd said: “It is frightening that so many foresighted people believe we may not survive to see the 21st century,” less than thirty years away.

Mankind’s plight has been Compared to that of passengers on a floundering ship in a stormy sea. “We’re directionless, rudderless and not sure where we’re going,” lamented Dr. Wilson Head, Canadian social science professor. The editor of Intelligence Digest said: “Only God can settle world affairs.”

But can God be depended upon to solve the problems that men have been unable to solve? Is there reason to expect him to?

What God Has Been Doing

Well, what would you expect of a good God, one who has provided the sun and rain and all the beautiful living things that make this earth such a delightful place to live? Would you not expect him to do something to satisfy man’s needs for lasting peace and happiness? Has he been making any preparations to do this?

The Bible shows that he has. It was God’s original purpose for humans to live in perfect health and happiness on a paradise earth, and he has never changed this purpose. Thus, immediately after Satan turned Adam and Eve away from God, God promised to raise up a deliverer or seed to annihilate Satan and establish a righteous new order of peace for the benefit of all of Adam and Eve’s offspring who would choose to be loyal to God. God explained in prophetic language how this Deliverer would destroy Satan, saying: “He [the seed] will bruise you [Satan] in the head.”​—Gen. 3:15.

In time God revealed through which family line the “Seed” would come, telling his faithful servant Abraham: “By means of your seed all nations of the earth will certainly bless themselves.” (Gen. 22:18) Later, God promised regarding King David of Israel: “I shall certainly set up his seed forever and his throne as the days of heaven. His seed itself will prove to be even to time indefinite, and his throne as the sun in front of me.”​—Ps. 89:29, 36.

Over the centuries God also indicated in his Word many of the blessings the righteous rule of this promised “seed” would bring to mankind. He foretold, for example, that all evildoers would be cut off, that only righteous ones would get to live forever on earth, and that humans would enjoy perfect health and peace in the restored earthly paradise. (Ps. 37:9-11, 29; Isa. 11:1-9; 25:6-8) So rather than forgetting man, God was for all those years making preparations for the eternal blessing of mankind.

However, a necessary step in the development of God’s purposes was the sending to the earth of his promised Deliverer and Ruler. Why?

The Promised One Arrives

When he arrived, this one was properly identified as the “‘seed,’ who is Christ.” (Gal. 3:16; 4:4) At his birth an announcement was made: “This one will be great and will be called Son of the Most High . . . and he will rule as king . . . and there will be no end of his kingdom.”​—Luke 1:30-33.

Yet this one, Jesus Christ, did not take up his rulership while he was on earth. Was he supposed to? No, not then. What he did was to demonstrate what a desirable ruler he would be by providing the needs of people in miraculous ways. For example, on two occasions he fed thousands of hungry persons with just a few loaves of bread and some fishes.​—Matt. 14:19-21; 15:34-37.

Also, Jesus miraculously cured the sick. In fact, he healed all those that were brought to him! (Matt. 15:30, 31) Even more remarkable was Jesus’ raising to life of the dead! For example, there was a widow who was mourning at the funeral of her only child. Jesus happened to come upon this pathetic scene, and told her: “Stop weeping.” Then he went over to her son’s dead body and said: “Young man, I say to you, Get up!” And the man did come to life, and Jesus “gave him to his mother.”​—Luke 7:11-16.

However, Jesus brought more than material benefits to people. He also showed them how to live together in peace and happiness, demonstrating to them how to exercise genuine love. He said: “I am giving you a new commandment, that you love one another; just as I have loved you, that you also love one another.”​—John 13:34, 35.

Then Jesus was killed by opposers. But his death served a vital purpose, providing a means of deliverance from death for Adam’s offspring. How so?

Well, humans die because of inheriting sin and death from their forefather Adam. (Rom. 5:12) Jesus, however, did not have his life transmitted to him from sinner Adam, since Jesus had been an angel in heaven, and his life force was transferred from there to earth. Thus Jesus’ perfect human life could be given as a ransom to purchase the life right lost for all Adam’s descendants by his sin against God.​—Matt. 20:28; John 3:16.

So, then, Jesus’ death was not something really unexpected. In fact, God’s prophecy had foretold that the “seed” would be bruised in the heel. (Gen. 3:15) Like a heel wound, Jesus’ death was painful but not permanently disabling. This is because God raised him to life again. Many eyewitnesses testified to his resurrection.​—Matt. 28:1-10; Acts 1:8-11; 2:32.

Significance Today

‘But how do all those things said in the Bible help me?’ someone may ask. ‘Even if Jesus really did those miracles and God did resurrect him, how does it benefit the hungry, sick and dying today?’

We and the rest of mankind can benefit in a very important way. How so? Well, since Jesus did all those wonderful things for people in times past on a limited scale, this is God’s assurance to us that Jesus can do them on a larger, earth-wide scale now that he has been raised to heavenly life! And God promises us that he will do all these things for mankind!

But when? When will the promised “seed” crush Satan and bless obedient mankind? It has been nearly 6,000 years since Satan induced the first human pair to rebel against God. How do we know that God’s time for ending Satan’s wicked system is finally near?

For one reason, it is because the unusually troublous conditions now existing were foretold by Jesus to mark the ‘conclusion of the system of things.’ He said that there would be widespread food shortages, pestilences, wars, lawlessness and other conditions that are now clearly in evidence.​—Matt. 24:3-14.

And for another reason, by now sufficient time has been allowed for settling all the issues raised by the rebellion. It has been shown clearly that Satan has been unable to turn all mankind away from God, as he evidently claimed he could. (Job chapters 1 and 2) The past 6,000 years of history have also shown that humans, independent of God, have been completely incapable of establishing a government to bring peace and happiness to its subjects.

Time to Satisfy Man’s Needs

Thus the time has arrived for God’s promised “seed” to deliver the fatal “head” blow to Satan, and clear out this corrupt system of things. (Gen. 3:15) Is not a corruption-free world something mankind so much needs? Yet it is now generally acknowledged that man cannot create such a government. Editorial writer David Lawrence observed: “The more we search for an alibi, the more we discover that unhappiness on earth is man-made. Our key weakness is that we have not solved the problem of self-government.”

Should we not rejoice, then, that God will satisfy this need of man for a desirable government? Under the rule of His appointed King, Jesus Christ, the whole earth really will enjoy a righteous administration of its affairs. A prophecy concerning the promised “seed” says:

“He must judge the lowly ones, and with uprightness he must give reproof in behalf of the meek ones of the earth. And he must strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; and with the spirit of his lips he will put the wicked one to death. And righteousness must prove to be the belt of his hips, and faithfulness the belt of his loins.”​—Isa. 11:1-5.

Today even the basic needs of hundreds of millions of persons go unfulfilled under unjust human rule. For example, governments pay farmers to plow crops under and store food away in granaries while daily thousands starve to death. The situation is so critical that Dr. G. Borgstrom, food expert at Michigan State University, said: “We simply don’t realize the dimensions of our difficulties. Because of our attitude, with more than half the human family desperately short of life’s necessities, I think we’re already in a disaster.”

At the same time, people the world over also are in desperate need of a decent place to live. This is true even under the most ‘advanced’ human governments. Saturday Review observed: “In 1972, at least ten million American families​—one out of every six in the nation—​are still living in housing that is badly deteriorating, grossly unhealthy, or utterly wretched.”

Also, disease, aging and death continue to plague the human family. There is an utter helplessness to satisfy man’s need for health and youthful vigor. Dr. Nathan W. Shock admitted: “We do not have the faintest idea what causes aging.” And it is even a greater mystery to man how to cure or prevent aging and death.

Is it not obvious, then, that modern man needs God? We depend upon Him to sustain the life processes of our bodies, for the miraculous food making of green plants and for all the earth’s other resources. But we also need God’s guidance on how to use these things properly. And especially do we need God to adjust our bodies so that they do not become sick, grow old and die.

Yet can we be sure that God will do these things for man? Well, what would you expect of a good God? If you had the power, would you not satisfy man’s needs, blessing him with life in peace and happiness? Then should we expect that the loving Creator of man will do any less?

In his Word God promises to create a “new heavens,” that is, a righteous government with Christ at its head, and a “new earth,” or a completely righteous new earthly society. After speaking of that new system as though it were already operating, God’s spokesman says:

“Look! The tent of God is with mankind, and he will reside with them, and they will be his peoples. And God himself will be with them. And he will wipe out every tear from their eyes, and death will be no more, neither will mourning nor outcry nor pain be anymore. The former things have passed away.

Do such promises sound too good to be true? Yet you can trust them. Almighty God assures that we can, for he himself goes on to say: “Look! I am making all things new. . . . Write, because these words are faithful and true.”​—Rev. 21:1-5.

Is it not marvelous how God purposes to satisfy man’s need for genuine peace, health and happiness? Do you feel grateful for his provisions? Jesus showed how we can show God our appreciation. In his Sermon on the Mount he said: “Keep on, then, seeking first [God’s] kingdom and his righteousness.”​—Matt. 6:33.

God’s kingdom is the government in the hands of his promised “seed.” This is God’s instrument for satisfying man’s needs. We seek that kingdom government of God by doing all that we can to inform ourselves of it. We thus develop confidence in its reality. And then we advocate that kingdom to others, advertising it as man’s only hope for peace and happiness, as Jesus did when he was on earth.

This is the work that Jehovah’s witnesses are doing by going to the homes of people and freely discussing the Bible with them. Also, they regularly meet to study about God’s provisions in their Kingdom Halls. They there consider information that builds faith in God and his kingdom. You are cordially invited to attend their meetings and enjoy this valuable instruction with them.

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Soon God will fulfill his promise to create a completely righteous human society