There were no all you can eat jots in the days of Jacob. Nor could the sons of Israel get unlimited free refills. Despite coping with the worst famine in his lifetime, Jacob wasn’t worried about stocking up on as much grain as his sons could purchase. Rather, deep down Jacob realized that all his family would need was enough to get by as the Lord would provide the rest.
But the hunger and destitution and starvation were very severe and extremely distressing in the land [Canaan]. 2 And when [the families of Jacob’s sons] had eaten up the grain which the men had brought from Egypt, their father said to them, Go again; buy us a little food, Genesis 43:1-2.
As a man in my fifties, it took time for me to know the difference between wants and needs. When you’re homeless, you need a place to sleep. If you’re hungry, you need money or a generous Samaritan to quench a grumbling stomach. Yet, in the days where I didn’t have much to offer, the Lord gave me a giving heart so that others had just enough to get by.
But seek ([z]aim at and strive after) first of all His kingdom and His righteousness ([aa]His way of doing and being right), and then all these things [ab]taken together will be given you besides. 34 So do not worry or be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will have worries and anxieties of its own. Sufficient for each day is its own trouble, Matthew 6:33-34.
Jesus tells a parable in Luke 11:5-13. This gospel author provides context to Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. This variation offers a story of a friend who opens their door to a person in need. This individual doesn’t throw a party where you can eat until you’re stuffed. Rather, God understands the difference between wants and needs, illustrating that the Lord will give you enough to get by. Like the message in the passage above, those who place their full trust in God will be satisfied.
by Jay Mankus
ExpressYourself4Him 