Just enough

By the time we saw him, the man had already pushed his car up the driveway of the gas station. First, all the pumps were occupied so he guided the old car to the curb and waited. He leaned on an old tank of a car, faded and bent. Finally a spot cleared and he bowed hard into the front bumper. The car rolled silently up to the pump.

By this time, we were pretty sympathetic for this man who obviously had a touch of bad timing, running out of gas so close to the station. And then we got a laugh as he pumped $5 worth of gas into the car and drove away.

I’ve never lived that close to the end of the paycheck, but I do remember paying all the bills for the month and having $20 left. What I found interesting was how we had enough. It didn’t seem to matter if the heating bill was up or we used more electricity. I paid the bills and we’d have $20 left over. We bought $75 worth of groceries every month (this was 20 years ago) based on a menu plan, and never ran out of food. We took walks for entertainment and played board games. I cancelled the cable TV and we had time to tend our garden.

I wrote a tithe check every month, right along with the other obligations. The car never broke down that year and the shoes didn’t wear out.

“Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty.

We weren’t looking for riches that year, just survival. God stretched my paycheck. I couldn’t tell you exactly how, but we always had enough. We knew we were being cared for even though we couldn’t exactly see how.

After that year of squeezing, I don’t doubt God’s ability to care for my finances. I could have pumped $5 worth of gas, knowing that when I needed more, it would be there. God proved to be able and willing.

See if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.

Mal 3:10