By Alison Feinauer
I don’t know about you but when I go on a trip I pack everything but the kitchen sink. I start making my list, and then after I make my list, I grab a few more things I “may” need. We go camping quite a bit. I like it because, basically, I can take my whole house. I start by packing all the food, then all the clothes I may need to wear, including 3 different bathing suits, then all the electronics and the cables we may need to charge all the devices and maybe a few movies for the ride. I can’t forget my husband’s sleeping pills. And, oh yeah, I may need a few more shoes. I also take pictures of my devotionals so I don’t have to actually take the books. The list goes on and on.
It’s overwhelming. By the end of packing, I don’t even want to go. My husband looks at my seat and asks, “Where are you going to sit?” I just chuckle. I don’t actually need to put my feet on the floor, do I?
I asked a friend to go to the store for me and get some extra tortilla shells because I didn’t think we had enough for a party we were having. I asked for 3 packs of 10 shells. He came back with 7 packs of 10 shells. I also asked for 50 paper plates. He came back with 2 packs of 100 paper plates.
I was quickly frustrated that he thought what I asked for was not going to suffice and spent even more money.
I started thinking about what drives this behavior: fear. It’s very clearly fear of not having enough. This to me also translates into my deep fear of not being enough.
Fear has a way of driving our behaviors and leading us into irrational thinking, packing, planning, buying, you name it. It produces many things in us. Left unnoticed, it will suck the life and joy right out of you. Self sufficiency is the enemy of God being the all sufficient one for us.
He is a God of abundance who provides for all of our needs. He is more than enough. He is the God of resupply. He knows exactly what we need, and is more than happy to provide for us: physically, emotionally, in all ways.
I’m a work in progress on this. I wonder what would it look like if I feared less, and trusted Him more. What if I trusted that his perfect love is more than enough for me?
Is there an area you are relying on yourself more than God to provide?
Are you overdoing an area where you can ask God to help you trust him more?
God, thank you for your love and provision. We need you to help us trust you more. Take us beyond ourselves into relying on you more. Help us to identify fears we have so that we can bring them into the light. Help us to pack light and simply. Give us wisdom we need for our day. In Jesus’ Holy name I pray. Amen.
“And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19).
“Look at the birds in the sky! They don’t plant or harvest. They don’t even store grain in barns. Yet your Father in heaven takes care of them. Aren’t you worth much more than birds” (Matthew 6:26)?
