I've been thinking a lot recently of what it means to have "enough." I'm in my last semester of college, so my bank account is low. This means I'm living on a tight budget--limited recreational shopping, limited activities that involve spending money, and limited splurging on my favorite foods (coffee, anyone?).
Despite this feeling of lack--the knowledge that my bank account is (hopefully) at it's lowest point of my life, the knowledge that I shouldn't look at the email ad I've received from one of my favorite stores because I'll be tempted to spend money I don't have--despite that feeling, I'm reminded how much I do have.
At least the next few months as I finish college I will have food to eat, I have a warm place to sleep and a roof over my head, I have cozy blankets, an internet connection, a surplus of clothes (that is suitable for the weather). I've bought all of my textbooks and I have access to a library. I have a computer, a phone, and access to music through Spotify or Pandora.
My needs are provided for, and I have enough.
Matthew 6:25-34 (from Biblegateway.com, emphasis added):
25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life[a]?
28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
When I read this passage, I used to tend to focus on the idea of "not worrying" rather than the other instructions provided here.
Life is so much more than food. Life is more than surviving. Life is more than staying up to date on the latest trends. Life is being with the people God has put us with for as long as we may be kept there. Life involves feeding our spirit by being with God and doing things to advance his kingdom. I don't know about you, but I feel most alive when the normal, troublesome things of life fall away and I get to enjoy the moments God gives me (a recent walk in the snowy woods with some friends comes to mind, or the hodgepodge meal we came up with as poor college students who didn't want to step outside in the -30ºF weather). These moments are blessings and they should be enjoyed.
But more than that, our heavenly father knows what we need. He knows the future, he knows the present, he knows the past. He is the only one who can provide what we need exactly when we need it. But it's not our job to run after our needs.
It's our job to run after our God.
Will you join me in letting God take care of the rest?
J. J. Hanna is a writer and reader who loves God and wants to help encourage others with what she knows and what she's learning. Answer her questions with a quick note and connect with her on social media. She's excited to hear from you!
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