He is more than enough

How often, how irreverently and how carelessly we break our Father’s heart.
I travel pretty often for many reasons. Once while transiting on one of such journeys, I silently wished God would bless me with so much money, just make me so wealthy, I’d own my own plane. That way I could up and go without thinking of stops, costs and what class my funds could get me on in a commercial plane.

It didn’t take long for God to rebuke me. The rebuke was instantaneous. It was loud, clear and undoubtedly His voice I heard in my heart:

“Now you are being just like the Israelites”
“How?”
“In spite of everything I did for them I was never enough”
“Lord, you are more than enough for me”
“They asked for a king, they rejected me”
“I’m not asking for a king Lord, just more money”
“So that you wouldn’t need me nor depend on me. You are asking for a king”

I’ve had to travel back in time to when He cut a covenant with Israel and up until the time they were captive slaves of Babylon. I can’t help but wonder what kind of nation they would’ve become if they hadn’t gotten the kings they asked for. I wonder also what kind of person I’d be if I learnt to totally depend on Him – to understand that it’s not the things I have or do not have that matter. What matters is that He becomes more than enough for me!

Nehemiah 9 retells Israel’s romance with God in a heart rending way. I’m holding back my tears as I see myself mirrored in this scripture:

This is who they knew Him to be – His Character
May your glorious name be praised! May it be exalted above all blessing and praise! You alone are the Lord. You made the skies and the heavens and all the stars. You made the earth and the seas and everything in them. You preserve them all, and the angels of heaven worship You.

This is what they said He did - His Capacity
• You are the Lord God, who chose Abram and brought him and renamed him Abraham. You made a covenant with him and you have done what you promised, for You are always true to your word.
• You displayed miraculous signs and wonders against Pharaoh, his officials, and all his people. You have a glorious reputation that has never been forgotten.
• You led our ancestors by a pillar of cloud during the day and a pillar of fire at night so that they could find their way. You came down at Mount Sinai and spoke to them from heaven.
• You gave them bread from heaven when they were hungry and water from the rock when they were thirsty. You did not stop giving them manna from heaven or water for their thirst.
• For forty years You sustained them in the wilderness, and they lacked nothing. Their clothes did not wear out, and their feet did not swell!
• You made their descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and brought them into the land you had promised to their ancestors. They took over houses full of good things, with cisterns already dug and vineyards and olive groves and fruit trees in abundance. So they ate until they were full and grew fat and enjoyed themselves in all your blessings.

This is what He wanted – His Conditions
• I make this covenant with you so that there may not be among you, man or woman whose heart turns away from the Lord our God.
• That there may not be among you a root bearing bitterness or wormwood.
• And so if that happens he may not bless himself in his heart saying “I shall have peace even though I follow the dictates of my heart” – as though the drunkard could be included with the sober!

This is what they suffered – The Consequences
• But our ancestors were proud and stubborn, and they paid no attention to your commands. They refused to obey and did not remember the miracles you had done for them.
• So now today we are slaves in the land of plenty that you gave our ancestors for their enjoyment! We are slaves here in this good land.
• The lush produce of this land piles up in the hands of the kings whom you have set over us because of our sins.
• They have power over us and our livestock. We serve them at their pleasure, and we are in great misery.

So in a way,  I guess I asked for a king. I’m concluding my study with the same prayer Nehemiah prayed:
You are a God of forgiveness, gracious and merciful, slow to become angry, and rich in unfailing love. You did not abandon them yet whenever your people turned and cried to You for help, You listened once more from heaven. In Your wonderful mercy, You rescued them many times! In Your love, You were patient with them for many years. In Your great mercy, You did not destroy them completely or abandon them forever. What a gracious and merciful God you are!
Do the same for me too O Lord, I repent for asking for a king. You are my one true King and I pledge my allegiance to You. Lord, I will depend totally on You because I realise now that You are enough – more than enough for me.

IDO October 2016