February 16
Exodus 35-36
Psalm 22:16-21
Proverbs 5:11-14
Matthew 27:1-23
More Than Enough
“And everyone who was willing and whose heart moved them came and brought an offering to the Lord for the work on the Tent of Meeting, all its service and for the sacred garments… ‘So Bezalel, Oholiab and every skilled person to whom the Lord has given skill and ability to know how to carry out all the work of constructing the sanctuary are to do the work just as the Lord has commanded’…They received from Moses all the offerings the Israelites had brought to carry out the work of constructing the sanctuary…And so the people were restrained from bringing more, because what they already had was more than enough to do all the work.” Exodus 35:20, 36:1,3,6-7 NIV
More than enough. Moses had to tell the people to stop bringing their offerings because they already had more than enough to complete the job God had given them. I don’t think I have ever heard of a church or ministry asking people to stop giving because they already have more than enough to do what God has called them to do. If we look at the Israelite’s history, we see that they were not consistent in their dedication to the Lord. They had periods when they were following Him wholeheartedly and then in the next instant, they were making a calf idol to worship. But at this time, they were all in unison, committed to God and to building His tabernacle. “Everyone who was willing and whose heart moved him came.” Moses did not have to stand up and give them a guilt trip to get them to give. He did not beg and plead or threaten them. He told them God’s plan and He left it up to God to prompt them to give. If God gives us a task, He will provide the resources needed to accomplish that task. God provided not only the physical resources they needed, but He also provided the skills and knowledge they would need. He does not expect us to carry out a task on our own. He expects us to be available and willing to be used by Him to accomplish His purposes. Did you catch that? His purposes, not our purposes. Too often I think we come up with great ideas and plans and ask Him to provide the resources for us to carry out our plans. That isn’t how it works. He is the master, and we are the servants. We don’t come up with the agenda. We just make ourselves available to Him and watch as He carries out His plans. Within the body God has gifted us each in different ways to carry out His purposes. He has provided people with the abilities and skills to do everything He has called us to do. It is our responsibility to be attentive to His leading and sensitive to His moving in our hearts.
Comments