“There aren’t as many people at church as there used to be.”
“We don’t have enough money to meet the budget.”
“There isn’t enough time to get everything done.”
Heard any of these before? In reference to the church? Or, in refernece to your own life?
Truth, is, all around us, there are individuals and communities who do experience scarcity. The struggle to meet basic needs of affording food, housing, and bills is a reality for more people than we’d care to admit. But increasingly, it is becoming easier and easier to slip into a mindset of scarcity.
And yet, as we heard this past weekend in worship, we are promised that there is enough by God’s provision. In our reading from 1 Kings 17, we met a woman and her son who were desperate. They only had a little water, oil, and meal remaining. The land was in the midst of a drought, and there was no hope of rain. But as Elijah comes to her, seeking sustenance, the Lord promises to provide enough to sustain them until the rains came.
And…the Lord’s promise is fulfilled. Not just in this story, but in story after story throughout Scripture. At times, what the Lord provides is an abundant feast; while at other times, what the Lord provides is just enough to get by.
So do we dare trust that the Lord will provide enough for us? For our selves? For our families? For the church? It might not always look like an abundance and it might not look like “what it used to be.” But in faithfulness, our God will continually satisfy our needs in due season. And from that faithfulness, we can turn to those around us, opening our hands to share what has first been given to us.
So this week, consider that which you have been given, and consider that which has been provided for you. Not only materially, but also what has been provided for you in love by the grace of our Lord. Offer your thanks for God’s faithfulness, providing for you, and then dare to trust God’s continued generosity by sharing what has been entrusted to you for the betterment of God’s whole kingdom.