Sufficiency: it's not a riddle

Ananias and Sapphira ran into big trouble because they didn’t understand it. Jesus fed a multitude with five loaves and two fishes because he did. The children of Israel “murmured against Moses and Aaron” because they didn’t know its source. Elijah saved a widow and her son because he did.

What is it?

The supply of food, money, clothing—whatever is needed for human well-being.

How to always have what one needs is a riddle that’s perplexed people for centuries. Long before concerns about an unpredictable stock market, Social Security, insecurity and fluctuating levels of employment, human needs were a fairly constant preoccupation.

It’s no wonder, then, that the Bible includes numerous references to provision—including repeated promises that one need only understand its spiritual nature to find a lasting, infinite source that can meet even the most desperate need.

Whether resources come as something specific—such as food, protection or companionship—or whether they appear as something more general—such as goodness, blessings or bounty—both the Old and New Testaments abound with examples of the provision of the creator for His/Her creation.

Passages throughout the Bible outline what it takes to secure blessings. One, in the book of Luke, explains the requirements this way: “Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat;” “seek not . . . what ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind”; “seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you. Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”

Deuteronomy conveys a similar message: “And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God.” And the book of Psalms advises its reader, “O fear the Lord, ye his saints: for there is no want to them that fear him. . . . they that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing.”

What these passages and others like them communicate is the need for a God-centered, rather than a supply-centered, view of things—a spiritual focus. This focus involves taking no thought for what the human circumstances might be. The concept of being provided for requires a reverence for God and a desire to know Him better. It entails a spiritual, consecrated, active, prayerful listening. It involves trust. But these requirements also bring with them the promise of infinite blessings, and of God’s “good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”

It’s one thing to be blessed for a day—to have enough this week or maybe for the month. But are there any guarantees for the future? Is there truly a source of provision that’s dependable and lasting?

The book of Psalms offers reassurance when it comes to such questions. Psalm 16 declares, “The Lord is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup: thou maintainest my lot. . . . Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is the fullness of joy; at thy right hand are pleasures forevermore.”

And Psalm 21 sings a similar song: “Thou hast given him his heart’s desire, and hast not withholden the request of his lips. . . . He asked life of thee, and thou gavest it him . . . . For Thou hast made him blessed for ever.” Psalm 23 also acknowledges God’s everlasting love, stating, “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.”

It would be difficult to miss the word that graces all these promises: forever. And, as these psalms indicate, that’s exactly the nature of God’s gift of blessings to each of His children. God is the sole source of goodness, and His blessings are eternal. As Psalm 16 explains, all that’s necessary to experience these blessings is an acknowledgment of the inseparability of God and each individual, as His creation.

What’s essential is a realization that because God is infinite, spiritual good, and each person is His idea, everyone can experience that goodness. For at God’s “right hand,” in His presence, are “pleasures forevermore.”

Even though the Bible promises that true substance is dependable and lasting, is there some catch when it comes to just who is eligible?

Income often seems uncertain, its recipients a lucky few who happened to sell their stocks at the right time or who had the benefit of wealthy parents and a cushy inheritance. But the fact is that everyone is not only eligible for a life of abundance, but that each person is always worthy to experience the infinite goodness of God. It is not just for the elect or the chosen, but for every one of infinite Spirit’s children, because the nature of Love, who is God, is impartial.

So how does one find assurance of this eligibility? The book of Psalms offers counsel to this effect: “Trust in the Lord, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed. Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.”

Being worthy of God’s gift of goodness, then, whatever the need may be, depends on one’s relationship to God, rather than on personal history, economic class or savvy financial decisions. As the book of Psalms explains, placing trust in God and understanding one’s relationship to Him leads to satisfaction, abundance, certainty.

Jesus’ parable of the prodigal son also confirms the idea that each child of God is infinitely worthy. The book of Luke relates the story of the son who asked his father for his inheritance and then proceeded to spend it carelessly until he had squandered every penny.

“And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want,” the Bible says. Finally, the son comes to his senses and returns home to ask his father’s forgiveness. Though he feels he’s no longer worthy to be called his father’s son, his father welcomes him home, feeds, clothes and celebrates him.

The prodigal son never became any less worthy to receive good, but he did temporarily lose sight of his relationship to his real Father, God, and the good that naturally abounds when that relationship is clear. The prodigal son “began to be in want” after he’d exhausted his material resources.

Perhaps what his homecoming points to is his desire to reestablish his relationship with his Father. To gain a renewed and substantive understanding of himself as the infinitely worthy child of God. To see himself as eligible for God’s blessings, in spite of poor choices and a tarnished past. To be faithful once again.

Hebrews states: “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” And when it comes to the fine print, this verse from Hebrews takes center stage. Beyond the promise that seeking God leads to the bestowing of blessings, this passage points to a need for a belief “that does not rest on . . . material evidence,” as one dictionary defines the word faith.

Indeed, this verse calls for something radical: no focus on outcome, no delineation of what the result should be. The faith for which this verse calls is an active one that proceeds from Spirit itself, revealing evidence of God’s ever-present store of blessings. It indicates that faith—an absolute trust in God—is itself substantive.

This “evidence of things not seen” is supply as God knows it—an abundance, infinitude. This is the faith that leads to an understanding of the nature of Spirit, the true, only and eternal substance that knows no limits. It’s available to everyone.

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