Enough

I have never understood why many words in different languages are not spelled as they are pronounced. “Enough” is one of those words in our English language. I would write it in my phonetical brain as “Enuf”. But this post is not about phonetics—I’m just chasing another rabbit.

Enough means different things to different people. So, from a hoarder to a minimalist, the word would have a wide swath of meaning. Sufficient is a good definition.

As I was reading my Bible this morning, my daily study carried me to 1 Kings chapter 17, where Elijah proclaimed a drought and then had to live through it. He was fed by ravens by the Brook Cherith and after the brook dried up the Lord directed him to the town of Zarephath near Sidon (roughly 90 miles away as the crow flies) where a widow would provide for him. The audacity of God chooses a destitute widow instead of a rich man to be the provider.

Arriving in Zarephath he immediately encountered the woman gathering firewood. He asked her for water and as she was walking away, he asked her for a “morsel of bread”. I can just see the woman stopping in her tracks and turning to the prophet to tell him she only had a handful of flour and a little oil. She was about to make the last piece of bread for herself and her son, after which there would be no more, and then they would die.

The woman was now at a breach of hospitality. Normally, in times of sufficiency her culture of hospitality would have readily fed a stranger asking for bread, but now her life was ruled by desperation. She told the prophet she was on her way to cook the last bread she had any hopes of having, and then she and her son would die.

The words of Elijah to the widow, “Do not fear; go and do as you have said, but make me a small cake from it first, and bring it to me; and afterward make some for yourself and your son. / For thus says the LORD God of Israel: ‘The bin of flour shall not be used up, nor shall the jar of oil run dry, until the day the LORD sends rain on the earth’” (1 Kings 17:13-14 NKJV).

The story continues as the woman obeyed the Word of the Lord and made bread for Elijah. She, Elijah, and her household ate for many more days. The flour did not cease, and the oil continued in the jar until it rained. It was ENOUGH. It was sufficient for the season of drought.

How much is our enough? It depends on the level of our expectation and the source of our provision.

The widow’s promise from God was more secure than any stash of food she could have accumulated. The promise was not, you HAVE enough; but the promise was, her enough would never dry up during the drought. A promise from God is more secure than a stockpile of man.

Think about God’s sufficiency. The manna in the wilderness was laying upon the earth every morning. God’s mercies are new every morning (see Lamentations 3:22-23). Jesus told us in praying the Lord’s Prayer to pray, “Give us this day our daily bread” (Matthew 6:11 NKJV).

In seasons of need, I have faced “today’s” need in prayer and heard the Lord’s voice, “Harry, can you get through today?” My reply, a pitiful “Yes.” He said, “We will talk about tomorrow—tomorrow.” So for that day, it was enough.

Enough is enough! Sufficiency is sufficient!

God does not want us to sit on our hands. Just so you know, the Lord also instructs us to make preparations as the ant.
Proverbs 6:6-11 NKJV
(6) Go to the ant, you sluggard! Consider her ways and be wise,
(7) Which, having no captain, Overseer or ruler,
(8) Provides her supplies in the summer, And gathers her food in the harvest.
(9) How long will you slumber, O sluggard? When will you rise from your sleep?
(10) A little sleep, a little slumber, A little folding of the hands to sleep—
(11) So shall your poverty come on you like a prowler, And your need like an armed man.

Enough is in a season of drought. When the rains come, we work the fields, and bring in a bountiful harvest to feed our households and others. God expects us to work with our hands, but when the land is dry and nothing grows, God is enough.

Today, I am thankful that I have more than enough. One day in the future the drought may come and then I will have enough. The Lord has enough in His hands when our bin looks bleak, and our jar looks hopeless. I am going to take my journey through this desert land with Jesus, He is more than enough!

Yours on the Journey,

Harry L. Whitt

Pathway Outreach Ministries