How Much Do You Have?

The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work. As it is written, “He has distributed freely, he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures forever.” (2 Corinthians 9:6-9 ESV). Please do not stop reading this devotional yet! I know it appears from the title and the chosen reading that I am going to get around to asking you for money. Well, I’m not. And, further, it has nothing to do with what you have, as much as it has to do with what you perceive you lack. Jon Bloom recently wrote: “Nothing will deplete your faith like looking at what you lack. I find that the more I fixate on my lack of resources, the strengths I don’t have, the weaknesses I do have, the heavier the weight of unbelief becomes and the harder the race of faith becomes. Looking at a deficit fuels our fear and drains our hope. A deficit says we don’t have enough to make the payment, meet the need, make the deadline, preach the sermon, fix the marriage, instruct the child, counsel that hard case, defeat the sin, or overcome the weakness. We don’t take risks with a deficit in view.” Listen to the apostle again: And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work. God’s desire is that we lack nothing, so he pours out his grace into us so that we will have “sufficiency” in everything. Here’s what the dictionary says about that word: Sufficiency is the state or fact of being sufficient; adequacy. It is a sufficient number or amount; enough. It is an adequate provision or supply, especially of wealth. I don’t know about you, but for me, there are times when I wonder if I have enough. Usually my concern is whether I have enough physically to accomplish some task. I am always reminded when I begin to question whether I have enough that my God has more than enough; and, his resource is at my complete disposal. So, why then do I find myself inadequate for some projects or tasks? Perhaps it is the task that is the problem. Maybe it’s not something God is interested in me doing. Perhaps the doing of that task would bring me harm and God desires to protect me from it by directing me to things that are more realistically achievable with my resources. Perhaps it’s just not the right time for me to do it. Whatever the reasons, I know that God withholds no good thing from his children. I have everything that I could possibly need. So, when I ask, “How much do I have?” The answer is always “enough.” That’s encouraging!