How Much Is Enough?

I seriously love the Bible. I’m reading in Exodus for personal study; I’m in chapter 16, which is the introduction of God’s bread from heaven, manna.

God explained to Moses how this was supposed to work, and he made it very simple. Each family was to collect enough for their family.

Something we often struggle with, though, is how much is enough? How much food and basic necessities should we have stored up? What’s enough? According to Exodus, enough is an omer—a  little more than two liters—per person when it comes to manna.

Check out the story: The Israelites gathered the manna as the LORD instructed, “some gathering more, some less. But when they measured it with an omer, those who gathered much had nothing over, and those who gathered little had no shortage; they gathered as much as each of them needed” (Exodus 16:17-18).

God provides enough.

This story isn’t about everyone getting the same amount; that would be silly and wasteful or dangerous depending on the circumstances. My family of five doesn’t need as much as some friends who have twelve kids. They obviously need more, and my family needs less. God has that figured out too.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, many people stressed about what they had. Even now, with lockdowns and limitations lifted, we may still wonder, do we have enough resources at home? Do we have enough resources coming in or within our building to sustain our church? Are we going to have enough to make it through this next season?

Most of us in North America haven’t really been faced with the issue of enough for generations. We haven’t experienced a lack of anything. Our kids who say they are starving have never even been hungry before.

Most of us have an excess of everything. We throw away food every day. Some of us have extra cars, extra houses, a vehicle that can only be used part of the year (boats, motorcycles, etc.). Not that these things are bad, but we often have much more than we need.

Need isn’t a dirty word. Understanding need compared to our wants could clear up a lot for us, including what is enough.

God’s people were hungry in the wilderness, and God provided enough. God has always provided enough for us. We just may not see it the same way as God. His enough makes us rely on Him to show up again tomorrow, which is kind of the whole point.

God gives enough.

God is enough.

Let’s rely on him, every day, for everything.