Always Enough

1 Kings 17:1-4 And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the LORD God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word. (2) And the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, (3) Get thee hence, and turn thee eastward, and hide thyself by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan. (4) And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there.

God sent Elijah to tell King Ahab that because of his and Israel's wickedness there would be no rain until God spoke of it.
He sent Elijah to hide by the brook Cherith, where he could drink and God would feed him.

1 Kings 17:5-7 So he went and did according unto the word of the LORD: for he went and dwelt by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan. (6) And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening; and he drank of the brook. (7) And it came to pass after a while, that the brook dried up, because there had been no rain in the land.

After a while the brook went dry, remember Elijah said it would not rain until he said it would.
Elijah had no water.

1 Kings 17:8-9 And the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, (9) Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee.

God told Elijah to go into a city and a widow would take care of him.

1Kings 17:10-16 So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, the widow woman was there gathering of sticks: and he called to her, and said, Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water in a vessel, that I may drink. (11) And as she was going to fetch it, he called to her, and said, Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thine hand. (12) And she said, As the LORD thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but an handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse: and, behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die. (13) And Elijah said unto her, Fear not; go and do as thou hast said: but make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it unto me, and after make for thee and for thy son. (14) For thus saith the LORD God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the LORD sendeth rain upon the earth. (15) And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah: and she, and he, and her house, did eat many days. (16) And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake by Elijah.

As we read, when Elijah spoke to her, she was getting ready to prepare the last of her food for herself and her son.
They were down to their last meal because of the drought.
Elijah told her not to fear, that she should make Elijah something to eat and then for her and her son.
It took faith for the widow to feed Elijah.
When she went back her meal barrel wasn't full.
But after making a cake for Elijah there was enough for her and her son.
God promised that the barrel of meal nor the cruse of oil would not fail.
God didn’t say the house would be bursting at the seams with food and oil.
God would provide for them each day until it rained again.
That way they would look to God daily for their needs.
He provide, there was always enough meal and oil for their next meal.

God provides enough for our physical needs

God promises to meet our needs.
In Matthew 6 God promises that His people will be fed and clothed.
Paul tells us to be content with much less than we usually have.

1 Timothy 6:8 And having food and raiment let us be therewith content.

I think most of us want more than enough to survive on and the clothes on our backs.
We all want more than to just exist.
God says that we will have our real needs met.
Though God promises to take care of us we have to do our part.
We can't lay back and wait for our food we are to work.

2 Thessalonians 3:10-12 For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat. (11) For we hear that there are some which walk among you disorderly, working not at all, but are busybodies. (12) Now them that are such we command and exhort by our Lord Jesus Christ, that with quietness they work, and eat their own bread.

God doesn't believe that those who are capable of work, but are too lazy to do so should be fed by others.
God blesses those who put forth effort, He will take care of those in need.
It will be through other people.
If we have a need He will touch someone's heart to meet it.

Luke 6:38 Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.

“Shall men give”
When needs occur God can use others to provide.
During desperate times we have had unexpected checks come in the mail.
Though God doesn't feed us miraculously today, He fed Israel that way in the wilderness.

Exodus 16:14-18 And when the dew that lay was gone up, behold, upon the face of the wilderness there lay a small round thing, as small as the hoar frost on the ground. (15) And when the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another, It is manna: for theywist not what it was. And Moses said unto them, This is the bread which the LORD hath given you to eat. (16) This is the thing which the LORD hath commanded, Gather of it every man according to his eating, an omer for every man, according to the number of your persons; take ye every man for them which are in his tents. (17) And the children of Israel did so, and gathered, some more, some less. (18) And when they did mete it with an omer, he that gathered much had nothing over, and he that gathered little had no lack; they gathered every man according to his eating.

God formed the manna like hoar frost on the ground.
We see hoar frost in this area after a cold, foggy night; frost on steroids.
The people of Israel were to go out and pick it or harvest it, He didn't pile it up by each tent, which He could have.
Even though God provided the manna for their food, they had to work six days of the week to eat.
God provided enough.
They gathered each according to how much they ate, but everyone had enough.
God didn't give them a surplus.
It didn't keep overnight except the day before the Sabbath when they were to gather twice as much so they didn't work on the Sabbath.
Some tried to gather extra during the week at first, but it was rotten and filled with worms the next day.
They wanted to gather while it was there.
Worrying about tomorrow when God said it would be there the next day.
We are that way, we look ahead and fear what is coming.
Because we want to rely on ourselves instead of God.
God wants us to have just enough so that we look to Him.

Proverbs 30:8-9 Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me: (9) Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is the LORD? or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain.

God provides enough for us to live with, not too little, not too much.
We have what God knows is best for us.
We all would like more, but if we had more we might not look to God enough.
God wants us to rely on Him, to ask Him for our needs.

Philippians 4:19 But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

God will supply all our need, maybe not all of our desires.
He provides enough for our physical needs.
He provides for our spiritual needs as well.

God provides enough grace

1Corinthians 10:13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

God says that whatever temptation comes our way, He will provide a way to overcome it.
We won't have to fall for the temptation into sin.
We won't have to sin if the temptation is to take the easy way out of a problem we have.
Sometimes the right way out is hard but God will give us the grace to do right.
God also gives us the grace to deal with hardship in our lives.

2Corinthians 12:7-10 And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. (8) For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. (9) And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. (10) Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.

The apostle Paul was tormented by a physical ailment.
We don't really know what it was, some speculate that it was an eye problem, but the Bible doesn't say.
We know this, God allowed Satan to cause Paul to suffer from something.
Much as Job suffered things which God allowed the devil to do to him.
Job was struck with physical illness, boils from head to toe the Bible says.
He was mentally tormented by his friends who told him the loss of family, possessions and health came from his sin.
They were another torment for him.
Paul had a problem bad enough that he went to God three times to be cured.
But God said no.
It was for Paul's good that the thorn in the flesh was there.
It made him rely on God to overcome the problem.
When Paul went to God, he was told that God's grace would be sufficient for him to handle the problem.
God wanted Paul to rely on Him.
He told Paul that His strength was made perfect in Paul's weakness.
God's grace is sufficient for us, we don't always feel that way though.
Too many times we feel as though we should be delivered from the afflictions which beset us.
We don't want to have to deal with certain things, but God's grace will get us through.
Paul asked God three times for relief and didn't get it.
He received the grace of God, by which he could live with the trouble.
It was still there, but he found that through his weakness God's strength took over.
He didn't depend on himself as much, but relied on God.
Throughout the years God's grace has gotten Christians through many trying times.
Many have died horrible deaths for the Lord and remained faithful until the end.
Christians have been oppressed, beaten and burned at the stake without forsaking God.
All by God's grace, not their own strength.
God provides enough grace for us to live by.

God provides enough peace

Philippians 4:6-7 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. (7) And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Peace in times of turmoil or struggle when there should be no peace, comes from God.
We don't understand it, we should be worried sick, but there are times when we trust that God will work out things for us and we have that peace.
Since being saved I have been through things that I would have had no peace in as a lost man.
I may have to spend a great amount of time in prayer over the problem, but eventually I will have peace.
That is what Philippians 4:6&7 are about.
Going to God in prayer instead of worrying.
Fretting and worrying is normally our first choice.
We worry and get ourselves worked up over something before we finally see we can't overcome the trouble without God.

John 14:27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

We can have the peace the Lord gives us whenever and where ever we are.
We can have peace about ourselves if we are not in sin.
Peace about who and what we are, we don't have to base our success on the worlds ideas.
No matter what we are, if we are obedient we will be someone in God's eyes.
We have God's peace, in the world peace will come and go with each circumstance.
Though we may be troubled inside at the first sign of a problem we are only prayer away from God comforting us and calming us.
We can have peace with who we used to be, at peace with our past.
Old things are passed away when we turn to God.
Paul had a past of persecuting God's church, but had peace with it so that he could serve God.
God provides enough peace for us to live by.

God provides enough love

Love for us.

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

John 15:13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

God's love for us was great enough to send Jesus Christ to die on the cross to pay the price for our sins.
He willingly laid down His life to give us life.
Because of His sacrifice we are assured of an eternity in heaven

Romans 5:6-8 For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. (7) For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. (8) But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

God showed His great love for us.
He didn't die for good people.
Jesus Christ died for sinners.
He could not love anyone more than that.
He also gave us the ability to have love for others.

1John 4:19-21 We love him, because he first loved us. (20) If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? (21) And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.

We are commanded to love others.
God loves us and gives us the ability to love others.
In Galatians 5 we read of the fruit of the Spirit.

Galatians 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, (23) Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

When God saves us we are given the Holy Ghost who takes up residence in us.
He brings with Him these nine fruits.
When we are saved we have all nine, we may not allow them to show in our lives but they are there.
Love is listed first.
God has put love in our hearts, for Him and for all others.

1Corinthians 13:13 And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.

1Corinthians 13 speaks of the spiritual gifts, some of which were to vanish.
These three remain.
The greatest of the three is charity.
Charity means love; self-giving love.
Love for others is a gift given to us by God.
One that He commands us to use, showing love for others.
God provides enough love, His toward us, us to others.
God always gives enough.
We may think it isn't at times.
When we feel lacking physically or spiritually we need to go to God in prayer.
We may have to work more, or be wiser with our income for financial needs.
We may have to seek God's wisdom for treating ailments in our bodies.
Seeking God always in prayer when we need help spiritually.
God gives us enough grace, peace and love to live joyful lives, but it is up to us to seek and accept help from God.