Amply supplied!

Yesterday, the lunch that was served to me by our local diner (Ah, you gotta love those NJ diners) was good, but it was too much! After the soup, salad, and warm soft dinner roll, I was already full and my main meal was not even served yet. I ate the main course and then, there was dessert. Yes, that's all in the price of the meal. Patting my stomach I concluded that the large slice of cake needed to be boxed and taken home. My eyes said, 'eat it all!' But my better sense said, "Jerry, if you do, you'll regret it." American consumers demand these large meal portions because they perceive it as a 'value' issue, 'getting their money's worth.' So, even though it is more food than we need, or that most of us can even consume in one meal, the restaurants must serve in this way to keep us coming back.

It's hard to know what is 'enough' isn't it? How much food should we eat? How much money do we really need? How big does our house need to be? If we consume too much food from our abundant supply, we grow fat. If we spend too much money, we go broke. 'More is good' and 'bigger is better' are concepts woven into our American lifestyle, but are they really true? The Bible calls us to 'contentment.' Paul instructs us that "godliness with contentment is great gain." In The Message we read: "A devout life does bring wealth, but it’s the rich simplicity of being yourself before God. Since we entered the world penniless and will leave it penniless, if we have bread on the table and shoes on our feet, that’s enough." (1 Timothy 6:6-8)

When God birthed the nation of Israel, calling them out of Egypt and leading them to the Promised Land, along the way He was their complete resource. When they had a need, they asked. For their daily food He gave them "manna" - which was literally bread from His hand. Every morning He provided and they found white flakes on the ground, which they prepared as their food. The name, "manna" meant 'what is it?' They were told only to gather what they needed, not more. But were those people content? No! Some wanted MORE. The Bible says - “Do not keep any of it overnight.” But, of course, some of them didn’t listen and kept some of it until morning. By then it was full of maggots and had a terrible smell. And Moses was very angry with them. The people gathered the food morning by morning, each family according to its need." (Exodus 16:19-21, NLT) Later on in the story of Exodus, they grumbled that manna was boring, that they wanted more and different food. "... the Israelites began to crave the good things of Egypt, and the people of Israel also began to complain. “Oh, for some meat!” they exclaimed. “We remember all the fish we used to eat for free in Egypt. And we had all the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic that we wanted. But now our appetites are gone, and day after day we have nothing to eat but this manna!”" (Numbers 11:4-6, NLT) It was never enough!

Believer, He has promised to meet all of our needs and even to satisfy our desires if we are walking with Him and those desires come from a heart that is full of the Spirit. What we really need is a to have our 'want-er' made holy! Instead of constantly telling ourselves, "I need that; I want this." - we learn to say, "Yes, Lord, I joyfully receive what You've provided."

Friend, have you found the joy of contentment?
Are you willing to let God satisfy your desires, to accept what He provides each day as 'enough?'
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"At the moment I have all I need—more than I need!
I am generously supplied ....
And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus. Now glory be to God our Father forever and ever. Amen." (Philippians 4:18-20, NLT)