The Problem of Plenty , the Prospect of Too Little and Blessed Sufficiency

UV 1362/10,000 The Problem of Plenty versus the Prospect of Too Little
As it is written, He that had gathered much had nothing over; and he that had gathered little had no lack.
2 Corinthians 8 v 15

The principle of this world is to stock up for a rainy day, to accumulate and feel secure. But the experience of the Israelites in the wilderness during their sojourn to Canaan was that the one who had accumulated a lot did not have anything left over and the one who gathered a little had no lack. For when the Lord sent manna, there were some who collected manna or heaven-provided honey flakes so that they would have enough for the next day. In like manner, people of our times accumulate enough so that it would be sufficient for the next generation if not more. But just as the manna spoilt as it was kept overnight, such riches do not outlast the one who spent so much time in aggrandisement. But the one who was contented with what God had provided, he had no lack or deficiency. His need was fully satisfied. The Lord increases the mileage of our limited resources. He multiplies our resources when we commit it to Him as the little boy who faithfully handed over without protest or remonstration the few little lumps of bread and fish to Jesus. Nothing is too little, no challenge too great for Him for He is the great multiplier. Nothing is impossible or too difficult for Him. The blessing of His hand and the pronouncing of His lips of thanksgiving for the provision was sufficient to make the baskets overflow with leftovers after 5000 were fed.

It is written in scripture that He withholds no good thing from him who loves Him. God sees what is the focus of our hearts and what are our priorities in life. He desires like a good parent that we are found lacking in nothing in the following ten critical areas: physical health, emotional and mental health, finances, spiritual well being, familial and filial well being, social esteem, character and accomplishment. Jesus said, “ I have come that you may have life and life in all its abundance.” He wants us to realize our hundred per cent potential in each of the above ten areas. He delights in satisfying our need and receiving our praise and thanks for it. He delights in seeing that we are joyful. He finds no pleasure in our sorrow, our pain, our distress or frustration. If we are anchored in Him, we will be secure. Every day we need to gather enough “manna” or spiritual truth from His Word to last us the whole day. Manna is man’s necessities provided by God in all areas. By definition man needs manna. We need not try to collect more manna than we can apply in our daily lives.

Our source of security should not be our money or possessions but the Lord Himself. We need to trust God that He will provide enough and more for our need. He will not only meet our need but give us in such measure that we will be able to share it and help the needy. When we give of what God has given us, it breaks the hold that money and possessions naturally have on our attention. Just as birds of the air do not worry about shelter, clothes, food or drink, we do not need to worry about how our need will be met. We need to recognize the spiritual truth – better a little with abundance of peace of mind than a lot with strife. Very often when we collect abundant material and monetary resources, we find that our peace and joy shrink proportionately. There seems to be some trade off between peace and prosperity. Excessive prosperity reduces our dependence on the Lord. It begins to take the place of God in our hearts for where our treasure is stored, there our hearts will be. Those who possess a lot should think they have little and those who possess a little should think they have a lot. Our sense of self worth should not increase or decline with the fluctuations of our income or wealth. Some people go into severe mental depression when they go through a phase of financial loss. Some are able to bounce back due to their faith and attitude. The latter think like Job, “What God has given, He has taken.” Such faith enables people to be resilient and to be able to survive famine even as they enjoy times of plentiful harvest. They realize that these are but different seasons in our lives in order to prune us, shape us and groom us for our eternal destiny. They only need the blessing of the hand of Jesus and the pronouncing of thanksgiving for the abundant provision even before they see it with their eyes or experience it.
Prateep V Philip