Is "Just Enough" Enough?

This morning I was having my quiet devotion time and this passage just seemed to jump out at me!

Proverbs 30: 8-9 "Remove far from me vanity and lies; give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me only food sufficient for me,lest I be full, and deny Thee, and say, "Who is the LORD?"-- or lest I be poor and steal, and take the name of my God in vain."

Can it really be that simple to us? It should be. Just give me my daily portion. ...nothing less, nothing more. I'm remembering the children of Israel and how God provided daily manna for them to eat. They weren't to gather more than they needed for that day. It was a trust issue. They were to trust that He would provide again tomorrow. That seems to be our problem sometimes. We think God has failed us if we can't seem to get all our debt paid off or have our emergency fund all stashed away safe and sound. Don't get me wrong. I'm all for those things! But sometimes I wonder if the unforeseen "financial trauma" that comes upon us through unexpected expenses of every form could be a test of our trust in Him. Sure, He could wipe it all out with blessings from His unlimited supply of resources. ...but what if?

Do we really trust Him? I can look back at times when our finances were in shambles... overextended... not exactly working out on paper... but we paid our tithes first and rested in the peace that He was working it all out. Those are actually some of my best memories. I remember sitting back and watching God miraculously work on our behalf when we put His Kingdom first. He teaches us so much in those times. I am thankful for His loving, guiding hand. I want to see Him in all things... the lean times and the times of blessings.

I want to be a "giver" instead of a "taker". Pastor Terry really compelled us to look deep within ourselves and ask that probing question this weekend: "Am I a giver or a taker?" So, I'm asking you (and myself again) the same thing and asking "is what He says is "enough" enough for you?" Other countries who aren't as blessed as us have the clarity to answer that question. They worship from a whole different perspective than us. We will stand in judgement before God with them one day. What will our answer be?