Did You Know (Sunday, July 27, 2025)

Too often, we confuse God’s promise of abundant life with the cultural definition of “the good life.” We mistakenly think it involves ever-increasing wealth and possessions. But the Christian notion of abundance means God will provide for our needs – not satisfy our greed. No story in the Bible makes this more evident than God providing manner, the bread from heaven, to the Israelites as they journeyed through the wilderness. God generously provided for their needs, sustaining them through forty years in the desert in a surprising and unexpected way. Manna could not be stored. When the sun grew hot it melted. There was no point in hoarding it. The people had to learn to trust in God’s providence and accept the gifts that God provided. “Those who gathered much had nothing over, and those who gathered little had no shortage. They gathered as much as each of them needed” (Exodus 16:18). God provides for our needs but does not satisfy our greed. Or as Paul proclaimed. <God will fully satisfy every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:19).