Monday Morning Devo - When Is Enough?

You have sown much, and bring in little; You eat, but do not have enough; You drink, but you are not filled with drink; You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm; And he who earns wages, Earns wages to put into a bag with holes.” Haggai 1:6, NKJV.

I don't know about you, but I tend to way overeat at Thanksgiving. I also tend to way overcook. We make enough to feed a small army. We have our Thanksgiving early in my family so that the ones in retail or otherwise busy on the holidays can come. As a result, I wear myself clear out and my stomach complains.

Too much of a good thing? Maybe Haggai had a point. We tend not to be satisfied with just enough. No one complains about making too much money (except maybe at tax time). Enough food at Thanksgiving and Christmas and other celebrations? You get the point. We take all we can get and still want more.

What is enough anyway? God promised to provide us with what we need, and that's been my experience. Often I didn't have as much as I thought I needed. What I thought I needed (or wanted, knowing I didn't need it), I really got by just fine without.

The holiday of Thanksgiving was begun to celebrate having enough to make it through the year without starving. Do you thank God and celebrate when all you have is enough? Or do you wait until you have an abundance?

I think back to when I grew up. We didn't have an abundance, but we always had enough. Our family never went hungry, and we always had warm coats in the winter. The important things were there--and the most important thing of all was being together.

Father, Help us discern the difference between enough and abundance, and may we always be grateful for enough. Help us see when is enough, especially enough to share with somehow who doesn't have enough. The best part of the holidays is and has always been having You in our lives. In Jesus's wonderful name, Amen.