“What is our measuring tool to know if God is enough?” I honestly had no idea where Amanda was going when she asked this question nor what could be used to measure our experience, trust, belief or faith of the truth of God. I mean, truly, we know that we can use a measuring tape to measure the length and width of a room to find its square feet or a cup to measure ounces for baking a cake; as a former Special Ed. Teacher, I knew that we could not write a goal for a student if it was not measurable. But how do we measure something that we can’t see, something that is abstract, something that remains larger and more “unknowable” as the relationship with God grows?
After all, I’ve always subscribed to Aristotle’s concept that “the more you know, the more you know you don’t know.” Is this true with God? Can He be measured? How can we know that God is enough in our lives, that we don’t need flashy, shiny things, excess, more, more more or even worse, hoarding of things, of stuff?
Blake spoke to us a few weeks ago on hoarding and some of the reasons that people hoard. That insecurity is something that I can understand. Having grown up with a single mom, I learned the value of rationing. Don’t get me wrong, I never went without a meal, but I did value leftovers, eating just enough and saving the rest for later, regardless of my true foodie-nature that wanted to devour anything delicious in one sitting. I’d even learned at one point how to rinse and reuse paper towels…while these can certainly be great skills for survival and for controlling yourself and urges, it can also leave you seriously feeling insecure. You get that feeling that there won’t be enough, not now, not in my future…so I have to strategize everything as a coping mechanism. It’s a type of hoarding, I’d say. It’s emotional hoarding in order to maintain a sense of control, to feel more secure; because what’s worse than not knowing your future?…Believing that you future won’t have enough.
As I became a self-sufficient adult, I kept some of these practices as they were definitely useful and pragmatic but I totally let go on the food part…like…really. I have been known to gorge myself to a seriously unhealthy level of gluttony, like biblical gluttony. I do this because it makes me feel secure. Why do I do this? I do this when I have forgotten. that. God. is. ENOUGH.
We hear over and over in the Bible people being afraid, not having faith that God will provide and worrying about where their next meal will come from, or if they’ll have shelter or if God even has their backs, chillin’ under a pomegranite tree like Saul in 1 Samuel 14 and not fulfilling your destiny. Sometimes we just don’t believe God’s promises, or what might be even worse, we don’t even SEE them when they are right in front of our eyes. I have been blessed enough to see and believe when they have happened, and I am so grateful.
Amanda shared with us a tangible way, a measuring tool for knowing that God is enough, but we have to be wise and reflective enough to use it—or at least know some people that are who can show us the times in our lives when God has: prepared us, rescued us, protected us, given us victory, blessed us and provided for us. As Amanda gave this method for measurement showing us how God promises to do these things in both the old and new testaments, my hand couldn’t write quickly enough to scribe the strongly present way that God has done each of those FOR me. When we reflect on our blessings by looking at them in these categories, it can become so easily clear just exactly how God has shown up for us, how He has our backs, 100%.
I decided at the end of the gathering that I wanted to do something special with this message, that I wanted to have that visual reminder staring at me in my face to remind me daily of how God is enough in my life and I need not experience the insecurity and devil-driven fear that is lack. God has been abundant in so many ways in each of our lives, we just have to open our eyes, reflect and choose to see it.
