When it comes to earthly wealth, I have never been rich.  Not even close.  And it seems highly unlikely that I ever will be rich.

I’m OK with that.  The reason?  Because the Lord has made sure that I always have enough.

Furthermore, I’m quite confident that even though you may not have everything you want … and even though life may have been exceedingly difficult at times for you … still, you have always had enough too.

David wrote about this very thing:

“The Lord makes firm the steps of the one who delights in him; though he may stumble, he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with his hand.  I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread” (Psalm 37:23-25).

Yet the world teaches us to always want MORE.  Our sinful natures eagerly take up the theme – MORE is better.  MUCH MORE is best of all!

David’s son, Solomon, alludes to humans’ unending longing with these words, “The eye never has enough of seeing, nor the ear its fill of hearing” (Ecclesiastes 1:8).  He also states this is a “meaningless” exercise.  (Ecc. 1:2).

I find the Lord’s manner of providing food for the migrating tribes of Israel fascinating.  (And telling!)  You’ll recall that the Lord had miraculously delivered his people from slavery in Egypt, and as they were enroute to the Promised Land, they had to travel through a huge barren area. 

What you may not realize is that the nation almost certainly numbered between two and three million people!  (Exodus 12:37 tells us 600,000 men left Egypt.  Add in women and children, and the numbers grow exponentially.)

Garnering enough food for all those mouths would be a monumental challenge for humans.  But it wasn’t difficult for God.  He simply provided them with wafers called “manna” 6-days-a-week.  The Bible tells us, “it was white like coriander seed and tasted like wafers made with honey” (Exodus 16:31).

But where this gets really interesting is when you consider the special instructions the Lord gave to the people in regard to gathering the bread.  Each morning they were to gather what they needed for the day, but no more.  If they tried to keep extra for the next day, the manna would be foul and maggot-filled. 

The exception to the “only-as-much-as-you-need-for-the-day” rule was the morning before the Sabbath Day (Friday).  On Fridays, the people were to gather sufficient manna for two days.  Astonishingly, the manna kept just fine for the extra day over the Sabbath.

Moses provides another incredible insight:

“The Israelites did as they were told; some gathered much, some little. And when they measured it by the omer, the one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little. Everyone had gathered just as much as they needed” (Exodus 16:17-18).

None of this was coincidence!

The Lord was teaching the Israelites an incredibly important truth; he was teaching the people to trust him.  He would supply their needs.  Day-by-day he would bless them with food.  They would have enough.  With the Lord, they would always have enough!

And not just enough food, but enough of everything.  Enough guidance in their journeys.  Enough protection from all their dangers.  Enough provision for all of their needs.  Not necessarily a surplus, but enough.  Always enough. 

The Lord wasn’t only trying to teach the Israelites this truth.  But you and me as well!

He wants us convinced that our God will always provide for us – spiritually, physically, mentally and emotionally.  As Paul reminds us, “He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all — how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?” (Romans 8:32).

We don’t need MORE.  We just need what God gives us.  It will be enough.

And when we recognize this truth – when we embrace it – we will come to realize that when God is our supplier, we have more than enough!  In fact, we are actually rich beyond measure. 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

1 Timothy 6:6-8
But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. 

Hebrews 13:5
… Be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”

Philippians 4:11-13
I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.