Less is More

Proverbs 27:7 He who is full loathes honey, but to the hungry even what is bitter tastes sweet.

Psalms 106:15 God granted them their request, but sent leanness into their lives.

God gives us what we need. Not always what we want, and not always as much as we expect. But He never shorts us of anything we require for victory over the world, the flesh, and the devil. Neither does He overload us. That can catch us by surprise on occasion. Sometimes to gain the victory, we need less rather than more.

If you have never had an interrupted night's sleep, you have no means to appreciate the incredible blessing it is to wake up refreshed rather than still tired. If you have never missed a meal with all the trimmings, you cannot give the same fervent thanks to God for a small bowl of cold beans as you do when that same bowl is the first food you have tasted after a long hard day of physical effort. If your bank account has never dipped below six figures, you cannot understand the ecstatic joy of finding a handful of change under the couch cushions.

The Israelites, while in Egypt as slaves, were supplied with all they needed by their masters, from food and shelter to style, government, and religion. They had no needs that were not furnished. After four hundred years, there was little remaining tradition from Abraham and their promise from God other than oral tradition passed down in the form of family stories. To get them out of Egypt, God had to up-end the Egyptian society and cause the comfortable master-slave relationship to become antagonistic. Only as the beatings and the demands put a division between the Israelites and their masters did the children of Israel start to look to God for help.

Each of our lives contain opportunities for growth. But since growth means change, and change can be uncomfortable, we sometimes ignore the opportunities for the sake of comfort. God, in His love for us, and with His plan to do us good, may at times bring leanness to our souls to encourage us to seek the change He is directing us to.

As we grow in God's grace and gain the wisdom of experience, we find that holding our own feet to the fire can be a more practical way to seek what God has for us. By stirring up our own spirit and maintaining a sense of desperation in our response to God, we can be ready and attentive for what God wants to speak to us. Let's rest in God's promises while remembering where we have come from. Let's rejoice in our standing as part of God's family, but stay focused on the fact that as children still growing up, we have much to learn.

God in heaven and Lord of our hearts, thank You for the vision we have from You of the riches and blessings that are ours. Help us to remember that we are accepted in the Beloved and cradled in Your arms. As infants adopted into Your family, we have much to learn and much to leave behind. As our way of expressing our deepest gratitude for those gifts, we set aside the privileges that are ours and become as servants in Your household so we can learn of You and bring You glory in all we do and say.

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