Exodus 36 - More Than Enough

"The people were restrained from bringing more because they already had more than enough to do all of the work."

Wow! How many times in our lives are we able to say this?

I can remember when my mom passed away. There were so many people and soooooooo much food. I remember my grandparents and dad telling people that there was no need for anymore. We barely had enough room to store anything. So naturally, my family fed anyone who came through our front door and then sent them home with food as well.

There have been other times I have seen this happen as well. This past year our community experienced a flood that people are still recovering from today. I volunteered at my church collecting donations. We had so much stuff! We were told to start turning people with clothing items away. We had so much that we couldn't manage. A group of us decided that we would continue to take whatever people felt led to bring. We just loaded everything we could in to my Odyssey for a delivery to God's Storehouse.

I look at this passage in two ways:

1. Are we giving more than enough to our church, family, friends, co-workers etc.?
2. Are we giving more than enough to God?

My answer on both would be no.

People may look at me and say that is not true. I do this post almost daily, I attend church unless someone is sick or we are on vacation, I volunteer with Good News Club and VBS, I lead an adult bible study on Wednesday nights, we have committed to tithe this entire year and I have just been recruited to work alongside some amazing women in my church in planning Women's Ministry events.

If we stop and think about these questions, unless we are giving him more than our everything then we are not giving more than enough.

I know that I will never give God what he deserves from me but that is not a discouraging statement for me because I know that I am a sinner, an imperfect being, and that I fall short of his glory.

There are so many ways we can strive to give more than enough to as Christians:

1. We can give our time.
2. We can give money.
3. We can give of our talents.
4. We can give encouragement.
5. We can be in prayer.
6. We can meet needs.
7. We can be in his word,
8. We can step out of our comfort zone.
9. We can show love to one another.
10. We can forgive those who wrong us.

These are just the things that pop into my head. There are so many more ways we can give.

I don't want to encourage you to do all of these things. I don't want you to over commit to anything. Rather be in prayer about how God can use you in your mission field.

If you haven't had a chance to read "The Best Yes" I strongly encourage it. I have a copy to lend to anyone in my this area or I could even mail it to you. If really gives so great points on saying no to be able to give your best yes.

I was really touched by the weekend wrap up this week. I loved how Wendy shared what was clearly a difficult time in her life. I can totally relate to her. So many times my wants have gotten me into a big mess because they were not aligned with what God wanted for me.

So I am saying all of that to say this. Do not go out and over commit to anything, rather be in prayer and be in his word with an open heart to receive the direction he will give you.

I don't think I will ever give more than enough to him but I will listen to his word, be in prayer for opportunities to serve and serve knowing that he will always give me what I need to do all of this that comes from him. And if I am giving more than enough, I will listen for God to let me know what HE wants from me.

I love these simple words from Matthew 6:

"For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

This is a heart check for me. What am I treasuring today? Is it from God or from my own selfish wants and desires.

Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for this group of women here today. Lord, you know we are busy moms, teachers, daughters, aunts, friends, wives, and on and on and on....Lord help us to have discernment from you on what you will have us to do to further your kingdom. Father help us to commit to what you call us to and not more than we should. Help us to remember that you order our steps, not us. Help us to do what comes from you and not from what we think should be done. Lord thank you for your word and for loving us so much that you give us direction. Thank you for forgiving us when we fall short of how you want us to live. Father help us to remember that where our treasure is, there our heart will be also. Amen

(I have not even opened the app this morning which is odd because I usually do that first. It will be neat to see what they see from this passage.)