After all, we brought nothing with us when we came into the world, and we can’t take anything with us when we leave it. So if we have enough food and clothing, let us be content. But people who long to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction. [1 Timothy 6:7-9 (NLT)]
The Bible is filled with stories of God’s provision for his people’s needs. In spite of their complaints about God’s provision, the Israelites never went hungry during their forty year journey. When Elijah was hiding from Jezebel during a time of drought and famine, he was fed by ravens. In Zarephath, God provided Elijah, the widow and her son with enough flour and oil to feed the three of them for three years! Later, God provided Elijah with food enough to sustain him during a forty day journey to Mt. Sinai. Sometimes, God even blesses us with even more than enough, as He did when thousands were fed with a boy’s lunch and several baskets of leftovers remained.
While we may receive more than we need, God doesn’t promise a surplus. Elijah and the widow didn’t have excess flour and oil with which to open a bakery and, if the Israelites tried to squirrel away their manna for anything but the Sabbath, it spoiled and got maggots. Just enough was exactly what God wanted them to have and what He gave them—no more and no less.
The problem for us is that mankind’s concept of “enough” isn’t the same as God’s; David is a perfect example of that weakness. Most of us would think David, the shepherd boy who became a hero and king, had more than enough. He possessed Saul’s entire kingdom and wealth, lived in a palace, and had seven wives along with an unknown number of concubines. Enough was no longer enough, however, once David laid eyes on Bathsheba. Solomon, with his 700 wives and 300 concubines and 25 tons of gold a year, never seemed to think he had enough either!
When is enough enough? God knows, but we don’t. Adam and Eve had all of Eden with the exception of the fruit of one tree, but that wasn’t enough for them! Whether it’s money, friends, time, status, opportunities, jewelry, health, strength, wisdom, or faith—we probably think we don’t have quite enough of something. Whatever it is, we’re sure that if God would just give us a smidgen more of it, then we’d be satisfied. Of course, we wouldn’t because, like Solomon, David, Adam and Eve, we’d want more than enough!
If we’re seeking the Kingdom of God and following God’s plan, He will make sure we have enough and all the resources we need. We may not see it but, if we dig deep enough, we’ll find that God has given us exactly what we need to do His work. If we’re seeking the Kingdom of Self, however, we’ll never be satisfied that we have enough.
Do you have enough?
My daughter has become quite adept at hiding Christmas gifts from her husband. If she doesn’t, he will find the presents and open them early; patience is not one of his strong suits. It wasn’t one of Sarah and Abraham’s either. Although they’d been promised a son and many descendants, they grew impatient waiting and took matters into their own hands. Sarah gave Abraham her maidservant Hagar with whom to make a child. Although she made the offer, he didn’t have to accept—but he did. The boy Ishmael was the result of their rashness and the rivalry and strife that continue today in the Middle East came from that impatience. Like Sarah and Abraham, when my son-in-law knows a gift is coming, he just can’t wait until the correct time to receive it. Fortunately, while his wife may get annoyed when he takes matters into his own hands, his impulsiveness hasn’t resulted in centuries of international conflict.
It’s less than a month until Christmas. This Christmas will be vastly different from past ones for us as I imagine it will be for you. Traditionally, our holiday season has been a busy and festive one of concerts, friends, church, fellowship activities, volunteering, entertaining, and family but being in the midst of a pandemic has changed all that. In an attempt to keep the spirit of Christmas alive in what has been a dreary and disappointing year, I’ve started decorating for the holiday and playing Christmas music. Christmas, however, is more than decorations, carols, presents, parties, and peppermint bark. Perhaps not having all of the fun-filled extras of this season will help us focus on its true meaning.
Living in a country where clean water readily flows out of a faucet, we don’t fully understand the concept of “living water” or mayim chaim. Ancient Israel was an arid land where fresh water was precious. Because it only rained a few months of the year, rain was stored in cisterns and grew stagnant. In contrast, living water came directly from God either by rain or a natural spring. Unlike sea water and the hypersaline Dead Sea, which looked refreshing but were poisonous and made the surrounding land barren, mayim chaim brought life. Throughout Scripture, “living water” was associated with God.
So, since God wants us to be prosperous, we’ll get 100 acres of land for every acre we give up or a return of $10,000 for every $100? Sounds too good to be true and it is. Logic tells us Matthew 19:29 can’t be taken literally—we can’t have one hundred fathers and none of us want one hundred children or wives! To make sure the disciples understood, Jesus made it clear that God is not our heavenly banker who dispenses gifts (especially monetary ones) to the most deserving with His parable of the Gracious Landowner. “Do I not have the right to do what I want to do with my own money? Does your eye make you want more because I am good?” asked the landowner. Jesus explained: “So those who are last will be first and the first will be last.” [Matthew 20:15-16] His message was clear: God’s grace can’t be earned or controlled. Moreover, the word often translated as “prosper” in Jeremiah 29:11 is shalom, meaning completeness, soundness, welfare, and peace rather than wealth. Biblical prosperity and prosperity theology are not the same!
The Apostle John used the word menó 53 times in his gospel and epistles. Frequently translated as abide, menó originally referred to the staying power of an army that is not driven from the battlefield. Meaning “to stay, remain, reside or stand fast,” menó came to imply an unbroken friendship or a continuous fellowship.
Devotions of the Heart 