Life as a River
God Provides enough
for us to be Satisfied
Do we really believe that?
Part 3
As you read this post I have landed back home in Atlanta from 3 weeks in Nigeria at West Africa Theological Seminary. I will bring you an update in next weeks post, but for now - here is Part 3 of the article by Jay Link of Stewardship Ministries, entitled God Provides.... Part 3 "God Provides Enough for us to be Satisfied" This is personally convicting !! - Mark
This is what the Lord has commanded: Each of you should gather as much as you can eat. Take two quarts for each person in your tent. So that is what the Israelites did. Some gathered more, some less. They measured it into two-quart containers. Those who had gathered more didn’t have too much. Those who had gathered less didn’t have too little. They gathered as much as they could eat. Then Moses said to them, ‘No one may keep any of it until morning.’ Exodus 16:16–19
God always provides enough for us to be satisfied
One of the most profound statements that John Piper has ever made, and it is imminently on point right here, is this, “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him.” There will never be a time in our lives when we are more in perfect harmony with the heart and the mind of God than when we are totally satisfied with just Him and with what He chooses to provide to us – however much or however little that might be.
Let me drill down a bit deeper. How do you currently understand what Paul says in I Timothy 6:8, “If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content.” Let me ask you, would you be satisfied if all you had was enough food for your next meal and the clothes on your back? Is this where your “contentment bar” is set? Probably not. Should we be concerned that our “contentment bar” is set at a substantially higher level than where Paul tells us it should be set?
Just two verses earlier in 6:6, Paul says, “godliness with contentment is great gain.” And remember, Jesus told His followers to “…be content with your wages” (Luke 3:14). This contentment message is everywhere! Let’s even go back to the Israelites, “Those who had gathered more didn’t have too much. Those who had gathered less didn’t have too little.” Everyone had enough. It seems that everything within us resists the idea of being satisfied with just enough, doesn’t it?
So, using Paul’s standard for contentment, how much is enough for you to be satisfied? And if that “enough” was all God wanted you to consume of all He has entrusted to you, would you both willing and glad to share all the surplus with others who don’t have enough – allowing you to become just another one of God’s conduits of provision to those who have a shortfall? Augustine articulates this idea so well, “Find out how much God has given you and from it take what you need (enough); the remainder is needed by others.”
I think we are all faced with an inescapable choice here. We are either going to have to make some substantial changes in how we are currently living or we are going to have to ignore a preponderance of biblical teaching on how God wants to be in relationship with us.
Intellectually, I have decided to start making the needed changes in how I live and how much I consume to better align myself with what I am sharing with you. Emotionally and spiritually, I will openly confess, I am still trying to figure out how to do it in the midst of so much personal and national surplus. ( I echo this with a convicted heart - Mark)
What I do know is that God provides. He will always provide me enough. And I need to learn to be satisfied with what He decides is enough for me to consume and then gladly and freely make the rest available for deployment at His discretion."
Let me drill down a bit deeper. How do you currently understand what Paul says in I Timothy 6:8, “If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content.” Let me ask you, would you be satisfied if all you had was enough food for your next meal and the clothes on your back? Is this where your “contentment bar” is set? Probably not. Should we be concerned that our “contentment bar” is set at a substantially higher level than where Paul tells us it should be set?
Just two verses earlier in 6:6, Paul says, “godliness with contentment is great gain.” And remember, Jesus told His followers to “…be content with your wages” (Luke 3:14). This contentment message is everywhere! Let’s even go back to the Israelites, “Those who had gathered more didn’t have too much. Those who had gathered less didn’t have too little.” Everyone had enough. It seems that everything within us resists the idea of being satisfied with just enough, doesn’t it?
So, using Paul’s standard for contentment, how much is enough for you to be satisfied? And if that “enough” was all God wanted you to consume of all He has entrusted to you, would you both willing and glad to share all the surplus with others who don’t have enough – allowing you to become just another one of God’s conduits of provision to those who have a shortfall? Augustine articulates this idea so well, “Find out how much God has given you and from it take what you need (enough); the remainder is needed by others.”
I think we are all faced with an inescapable choice here. We are either going to have to make some substantial changes in how we are currently living or we are going to have to ignore a preponderance of biblical teaching on how God wants to be in relationship with us.
Intellectually, I have decided to start making the needed changes in how I live and how much I consume to better align myself with what I am sharing with you. Emotionally and spiritually, I will openly confess, I am still trying to figure out how to do it in the midst of so much personal and national surplus. ( I echo this with a convicted heart - Mark)
What I do know is that God provides. He will always provide me enough. And I need to learn to be satisfied with what He decides is enough for me to consume and then gladly and freely make the rest available for deployment at His discretion."
God Provides Enough for Us to be Satisfied. (Do we really believe it?)
Who will join me on this lifestyle changing adventure ?
Learning to be satisfied with what God says is enough?
Learning to be satisfied with what God says is enough?
RIVERS NOT RESERVOIRS
7982 Hillcrest Trail
Jonesboro, Georgia 30236
BLOG: www.hisrivers.org
EMAIL: his.rivers@gmail.com
7982 Hillcrest Trail
Jonesboro, Georgia 30236
BLOG: www.hisrivers.org
EMAIL: his.rivers@gmail.com
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