BY GREG CRUM
“And there were set there six waterpots of stone, after the manner of the purifying of the Jews, containing two or three firkins apiece. Jesus saith unto them, Fill the waterpots with water. And they filled them up to the brim.” John 2:6-7
Here in John 2, we read a curious but telling detail included in the account of Jesus’ first miracle. When Jesus commanded the servants to fill the waterpots with water, they filled them all the way to the brim. If these servants had been like many believers today, they would have erred on the side of caution and complacency and filled these waterpots just enough to satisfy the command of Christ, but perhaps these servants knew what God wishes more modern Christians understood, that He desires to be more than “just enough” for us—He desires to be too much!
Last week we wrote that current events in this world are pushing us to believe that there is not going to be enough of what we need to go around. The devil is working overtime it seems to entice us into becoming afraid that we are going to go without things that we would want or need. The truth of the matter is that the God we serve is, always has been, and always will be, the God of more than enough.
To put it another way, He’s the God of too much! In times of financial distress, whether personally, locally, or globally, we must remind ourselves that the God of the Bible has shown us a pattern that He’s more than, not less than. While this world wants us to believe in lack, in deficits, and in shortfalls, God wants us to know that He’s all about abundance, overflow and windfalls!
Now, we left off last week by giving you some examples of God’s abundant supply towards His servants. We mentioned Abraham and how God made him rich right in the middle of local lack. We also mentioned how He promised to bring Israel into a land flowing with “milk and honey” and how the imagery supplied conveyed the heart of God to bless His children with more than just enough to get by! I know it may be hard for us to wrap our heads around these truths, especially when you consider the poverty we’ve seen in our area for decades and the false doctrine we’ve had taught to us by those very misinformed along these lines. But the Bible plainly pictures God as “El-Shaddai,” the “All-Sufficient One,” or in more modern terms, the God who is more than enough!
Are you struggling to have your needs met in the current economic environment? I encourage you to think back to what you’ve read in the Scriptures. Think about those stories you once heard in Sunday School. Remember when God provided quail in the wilderness for the Israelites? They questioned if He could provide meat in a time of lack, and what did He do? In an instant, He brought quail 6 feet deep a day’s walk in all directions! What? Yes, seriously, research it and convert the numbers given in the Word. This was a lot of fowl! This wasn’t just enough for each person to get a bite; this was way too much!
We see a similar scenario unfold in Jesus’ ministry with the feeding of the 5,000 and again with the feeding of the 4,000. Everyone ate those days and they had baskets full of food left over. Why? Because God provided too much!
Are you seeing a pattern here, friends? We limit God so often in our lives because we don’t believe the Bible’s record of who He is and how He operates. God isn’t a “just enough so we don’t waste a drop” kind of God—He’s always been about more than what was needed in the moment because He’s always had plenty to spare!
Brothers and sisters, let’s not stress about how we are going to make ends meet today, tomorrow, or the next. Let’s remember that our Father is more than enough to all that will look to Him as their provider. Let’s follow His path to abundance and allow that abundance to be a testimony to others of His love for His children.