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#INSUFFICIENT Part 3...Running on empty


Every day, in some way or another, we seem to come up short. Our output exceeds our income, and we are "in the red" when it comes to so many things, such as time, energy, money...even enthusiasm. Being tapped out seems to have become the norm, as we chase every opportunity, pursue countless friendships, enlist ourselves in every new cause, and rack up accomplishments, jam-packing our resumes, calendars, and Facebook friends list until we don't have a single spare moment to ourselves. From the outside, it looks like a "full life;" on the inside, it feels pretty empty. How can something so empty feel so heavy?

First of all, "more" isn't necessarily "better." Have you ever been behind a group of tween girls ordering their drinks in a coffee shop? They like the fru-fru girly coffees, with lots of sugar, calories, and every possible option, extra this, extra that...Aside from taking FIVE-EVER (I just learned this term from my daughter--five-ever is longer than forever) to get their orders placed, they wind up with a beverage that, for all the additions, in no way resembles a cup of coffee. Like these little girls, we let our enthusiasm for enriching our lives run out of control until-- for all its accouterments -- we don't have much of a life left.

Instead of looking to the author and finisher of our faith to define our passions and purpose, we've embellished it beyond recognition, and it leaves us feeling empty. Why? Because instead of going to the well --the source of rivers of living water-- when we are thirsty, we go elsewhere and try to dig our own well. 

In the book of II Kings chapter 4, we read a story about a widow who was in over her head. She was so deep in debt that the lenders had threatened to come take her sons away as slaves! When the prophet Elisha asked her what she had on hand that she could possibly sell, she answered, only a little bit of oil--just a small container. Not enough to do any good. Insufficient.

"Borrow some jars--lots of them!" he directed her, and she sent her sons out to the neighbors to collect empty containers of all sizes. Then, she began to pour out the contents of that little container of oil into the big clay jars. She poured and she poured, filling container after container until the very last one was filled. Her heart still fluttering with the excitement of the miracle God had just performed--making so little go so far--the widow ran out to find buyers and sold all the oil until she not only paid off her debts, but she also had enough money for her and her sons to live comfortably!

For all that we have, in times of crisis, it becomes painfully clear just how insufficient we are in our own resources. What we have--on our own--will always be insufficient, without God's power in the mix. 

If you're feeling insufficient, it's not because you're flawed or a failure, it's because we truly are, without God's mercy and power to define, strengthen and expand our own meager resources.  But that's what he does--that's who he is. His mercy is new every morning (Lamentations 3:23), his love is everlasting (Jeremiah 31:3), and he is the well where we can drink and never thirst again (John 4;14).

We are weak, but he is strong. We are limited, but He is limitless. Stop trying to mask your insufficiencies with embellishments that still leave you empty, weak and tired. Just go to the well, where every insufficiency is remedied, and trust God to make up the difference. 

My help comes from the Lord,    who made heaven and earth! -- Psalm 121:2

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