Always enough

If you’re like me and most people I know, you’ve likely spent at least some of your life living paycheck to paycheck.  Your paycheck comes, hopefully you give your tithe, then you pay your bills, buy your groceries, and maybe squeeze in a date night with your spouse.  It’s not payday again, yet, so you pinch your pennies carefully while you wait for the next check to come.  When you’re suddenly faced with unexpected expenses, you do a little “creative financing” and juggle the expenses around to fit them into your current budget situation like a game of Tetris.

It is in moments just like these that I’ve seen God provide in ways I couldn’t have dreamed of.  An unexpected bonus at work. An out-of-the-blue financial gift. One time I even discovered that I had unknowingly double paid a bill in the previous month so I suddenly had the extra money I needed.  There was no way for me to thank my bank account for the bail out.  It was all God!  Sometimes I wonder if I would still be trusting in God as my provider if I had abundant financial resources.

Recently I was reading the story of Gideon in the book of Judges and I saw a similar concept played out.  Gideon had gathered all the fighting men together to go to battle against the Midianites. He was all set to battle their enemies with 30,000 soldiers when God suddenly proclaimed to him that he had “too many men”.  I wonder what Gideon’s initial reaction was?  After all, when God had first called him to lead the Israel’s army he already felt completely inadequate. (Judges 6:15) He had probably finally gained a little confidence with an army of 30,000 fighters ready to go to battle with him.  But God did not want him to have confidence in the number of soldiers he had.  God wanted him to have confidence in him alone. So he began the process of thinning out the troops until they were down to only 300 men

The Lord said to Gideon, “You have too many warriors with you. If I let all of you fight the Midianites, the Israelites will boast to me that they saved themselves by their own strength.” – Judges 7:2

As expected, 300 fighters were all Gideon needed for the victory because God intervened.  And there was no denying the fact that without God, they would’ve been destroyed.

The apostle Paul also talks about how our weaknesses highlight Christ’s strength.  (2 Corinthians 12:7-10) Whenever we feel as though we have less than enough, whether it’s money, time, opportunities, abilities, or whatever it is, we need to remember that God wants us to give it all to him. Whatever we have that we give back to God will always be enough.  God doesn’t want us depending on our own resources or strengths to get us through.  He wants us to have faith in him alone to accomplish his purpose in our life.