Supply and Desire

“The eyes of all look to You, and You give them their food at the proper time. You open Your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing.”- Psalm 145:15-16

One of the consequences of a fallen world and the sin nature, is our flesh has been conditioned to believe there is “not enough”. This SCARCITY MINDSET causes people to put less and less trust in God being the Supplier of their daily needs, and more and more reliance on themselves. In this place people have a propensity to accumulate possessions and tightly grip them, as if their well-being and future is dependent on material things. Jesus understood the worry of humanity when it came to worldly possessions and daily needs. In Matthew 6:31-32 the Savior (and Supplier) of the world declared, “So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.”

Events like the COVID pandemic has only compounded the fears of not having enough and pushed people into a frenzy of activity. We have seen longer lines in the grocery stores, empty shelves where toilet paper and canned food should be, and a general “me, me, me” mentality. People are afraid that they will run out of stuff or what may happen next. Many folks have lost their ability to think rationally, be considerate of others, as they prepare for a doomsday scenario. In the wake of stockpiling and hording, there is now not enough for everyone to find what they need.

1 Corinthians 2:16 tells us, “But we have the mind of Christ.” As God’s people, we can re-write the fear narrative that has been fueled by the threat of this virus. As I said on Sunday, “Where the virus has spread to thousands bringing FEAR, may Jesus spread to millions bringing LIFE!” Because we have the mind of Christ, we are to be a prayerful people; we are to seek wisdom and walk in it; we are to have a peaceful countenance and hope-filled words. Let’s share ENCOURAGING WORDS with others and let’s share EVERYDAY SUPPLIES we have with those in need.

We need to be reminded Israel’s journey from Egypt to the Promised Land and how God supplied bread from heaven. He even covered them to the point that the Lord instructed the people to gather two-day’s worth, so they would not need to work or worry on the Sabbath. Philippians 4:19 tells us, “And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of His glory in Christ Jesus.” The stores may run out of supplies and businesses may take a hit in this season, but God’s supply never runs out and Heaven is always open!