God’s Smorgasbord
//Kenneth W. Hagin
When I was growing up, it was common for preachers to go to someone’s house for Sunday dinner. Those old-time cooks would make at least two meats for the meal: either chicken and ham or chicken and roast. They also made four or five different vegetables, along with biscuits, gravy, and dessert. Talk about a spread! If any of the dishes started to run low, they would say, “Go ahead and take the rest. There’s plenty more where that came from.”
As bountiful as those Sunday dinners were, they can’t compare to the smorgasbord God has for His children. He has provided an abundant supply for every area of our lives, and it can never be exhausted.
God always has more than enough.
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John 10:10 (NIV 1984) says, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. This verse shows us that God wants us to have a full life. He wants us to experience everything He has for us. To do this, we must develop a mindset of abundance.
What Are You Looking At?
These days many companies are downsizing. A lot of people are without jobs. People are talking about how bad the economy is. You don’t have to listen to them long to see that they don’t believe things will get better. But no matter what is going on around us, we cannot let this kind of thinking become our mindset.
God has given us all kinds of wonderful promises in His Word and He wants us to experience them. But to receive what He has promised us, we have to think in line with His Word. In other words, we have to think in line with His abundance. When we don’t, we limit God. However, He is not limited by the economy or by our jobs. Thank God for a job, but that job is not my source. God is!
When we stop looking at our circumstances and start focusing on what is available in God, our situation will begin to change. We’ll start taking the limits off of what God can do for us. When we see God as our source, no matter what happens, His provision will always be there.
We see examples of God’s abundant supply throughout the Bible. When Abraham needed an animal to sacrifice, he found a ram caught in a thicket (Gen. 22:13). When the Israelites needed water in the desert, God provided it abundantly (Exod. 17:6). When Elijah was hiding by a brook during a drought, God commanded ravens to bring him food (1 Kings 17:4).
You Go First
Genesis chapter 13 tells of the time when Abraham and his nephew Lot had to separate. They each had so many flocks and herds and tents that there wasn’t enough room for them to dwell together. But notice Abraham’s attitude of faith regarding the land.
GENESIS 13:8–9 (NKJV)8 So Abram said to Lot, “Please let there be no strife between you and me, and between my herdsmen and your herdsmen; for we are brethren.
9 Is not the whole land before you? Please separate from me. If you take the left, then I will go to the right; or, if you go to the right, then I will go to the left.”
Abraham believed there was more than enough land for both of them, so he let Lot choose first. The attitude of faith knows that even if the other person goes first, whatever is left over will be more than enough.
Many people run to get in the front of the line. But with God, we don’t have to run. Even if we’re the last person in line, He will make sure there will be ample provision for whatever we need.
Take as Much as You Want
At God’s buffet table, we can fill our plate up with healing. We can go back and take as much provision as we want. We can get protection and peace, joy and wisdom. If we’re not satisfied, we can always go back for seconds and thirds. God always has more than enough. We’ll never go to Him and ask Him for something and have Him say, “I’m sorry. I’ve run out of that today. Come back tomorrow.” His supply never runs low.
Give and It Shall Be Given
Did you ever notice how many promises in the Word require us to do something before God does His part? An example of this is found in John chapter 6. Jesus and His disciples were on a mountainside when a great multitude of people came toward them. Jesus told His disciples to feed them. But nothing happened until after a young boy gave the disciples his lunch of five loaves and two fish. Jesus then blessed the bread and fish and 5,000 people were fed. Afterwards, 12 baskets of food were left over. (See John 6:2–13.)
God’s abundance is the same today as it was in Bible days. We can never exhaust His rich, over-the-top supply. It’s time to take the limits off and focus on God’s abundant supply. When we do, we’ll always have more than enough for whatever we need.