Judges 7:1-8:17
Luke 23:13-43
Psalm 97:1-98:9
Proverbs 14:7-8
The industry I work in is all about making oneself useful to clients. To do that, one needs resources - information, analysis and access our clients need to make the best decisions possible for their investors. The bank I worked for previously seemed to have that in great abundance. I worked in equities - stocks, if you will - and had a full complement of intelligent analysts spanning Asia and Europe; I had the benefit of one of the largest investment banking teams in Asia (my area of battle!) behind me, and a well known brand name besides. I had everything I thought I might need, didn't need to lift a finger - an assistant, a travel department, a printing and publishing office, 24-hour IT support, an amazing cafeteria and gym at the office, and the convenience of a 10 minute commute to work. To many, it seemed the perfect gig, abundant in the resources necessary for success.
But it wasn't the perfect gig, and we did not enjoy the success we'd hoped; it was a challenging place to work, and they eventually decided to get rid of the business I worked for - what they could not sell, they shut down. I was part of a piece sold to a much smaller institution, one few of our clients had heard of. I went from a 10 minute commute to a well staffed and appointed office of 3400 people, to a two hour round trip commute into Manhattan to a cramped office of just 11 people; from an environment where flights were magically booked and presentations appeared bound and stacked, to having to book my own flights and hotels, and print out, punch and bind our presentations manually.
Yet for some reason, things are working so much better now than they were at my previous job. It appears that, in God's eyes, abundance and sufficiency are two different things. Our resources at the old shop were abundant, but insufficient; our resources today are far fewer, but sufficient.
Gideon learned that lesson too, didn't he? Can you imagine what his earthly side must have been thinking when God told him he had too many men? And yet, with just the three hundred God told him to take, God provided all else they required so they were able to vanquish a hundred and twenty thousand swordsmen...despite their hunger, and the lack of support from Sukkoth and Peniel. Gideon didn't need abundance, but God gave him sufficiency.
Our Lord, Jesus, experienced the same thing in today's reading. The task His Father had given Him was overwhelming, and the agony He'd suffered to that point may have threatened to overcome Him. So God sent His Son sufficiency of resources - in Simon of Cyrene, who was ordered to carry the cross for Jesus, helping Him get to Golgotha and finish His mission on earth.
Despite the journey God has already permitted me to share with Him, I still find myself dreaming of an abundance of material resources. A really good few years at work, a winning lottery ticket...but then I find myself worrying about how that might affect me, and my ability to recognize my complete dependence upon our God. By His grace, I pray I find myself able to set aside these dreams of earthy abundance, hoping to learn instead not to boast that "my own strength has saved me".
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