Accept these from them, that they may be used in the work at the tent of meeting. Give them to the Levites as each man’s work requires. – Numbers 7:5

Today’s Scripture Reading (December 1, 2021): Numbers 7

American poet and essayist Walt Whitman (1819-1892) said that “Whoever is not in his coffin and the dark grave, let him know he has enough.” Too often, we seem to be on an eternal chase for more. Enough is something that always appears to elude us. But if you can read this, if you are still taking a breath and exhaling your words, can I invite you into the mystery of enough? You have enough for this moment. And the reality that I know from life is that that future moment that we worry about may never come, and this is especially true if we come to understand the mystery of enough. And understanding the mystery of enough is key to the concept of contentment, which is essential to the experience of happiness. 

Christian theology has always been a theology of enough. Jesus’s death on a cross for our sins was enough. God is enough for this moment, and even for the next moment that consumes us in our worries. Even the idea that God is an on-time God, never early and never late, is evidence of this idea that God is enough. Maybe this is the essence of another mystery, the joy of the Lord.

God instructs Moses to accept the gifts that would be brought to him by the people. And those gifts would be part of this theology of enough. The gifts brought to Moses would be enough to ensure that the tasks for which the tabernacle was constructed could be carried out. But Moses was also to give the Levites the things they needed to carry out their duties. The Levites would be given enough to do their tasks. But if they did not have a need, then they would not receive the gift from the hand of Moses. The Levites would have enough.

We often dream of more than enough. And the paradox is that that when we understand that we have enough and that enough brings contentment and happiness, we can look back on what was once sufficient and find that we actually have been given more than enough. It is all part of the mystery.

But that is not the way that life often seems. We want more as we try to reach enough, and that whole process produces stress in our lives. And maybe we need to hear a truth from a social media meme (yes, sometimes even social media tells the truth).

            When you feel overwhelmed.

            You’re spending too much time with the world

            And not enough time with God.

            Because when everything around us is falling apart.

            “He will be our peace” (Micah 5:5).

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Numbers 8