Abundance...

"Thus Joseph stored up grain in great abundance like the sand of the sea, until he stopped measuring it, for it was beyond measure."--Genesis 41:49. By this point in Joseph's life, he is finally released from prison in Egypt because he was asked to interpret a dream Pharaoh had. In the interest of time, I will not describe the dream but the interpretation of it was that Egypt would have seven years of abundance followed by seven years of famine.  In response to this, Joseph would advise Pharaoh to store up food to use as a reserve for the time of famine. Due to Joseph's God given wisdom, Joseph is put in charge of making sure the storage of food is carried out. He goes from a prisoner to second in command under Pharaoh almost overnight storing up food to the point that it was beyond measure for Egypt to have an abundance in time of famine.   The entire account can be read in Genesis 41:1-49

Abundance.  The lesson here is pretty simple.  Pharaoh and Joseph were aware of an impending emergency and this required them to prepare for such an emergency.

Abundance.  There are going to be these sort of emergencies in our lives and this requires us to be prepared for those times of famine so that we might have abundance.

Abundance.  Of course the basic idea here is to save.  I hate to admit that this was something that was not drilled into me growing up so it is a lesson I have had to learn the hard way.  It is only been relatively recently in my life that I have learned to store so that I can have abundance in times of famine.

Abundance.  However, we can also see from this account that saving was not meant to be just to serve self.  Saving was also meant to serve the needs of others. This storage of food was meant to feed the whole nation of Egypt during the famine.

Abundance. So what does this mean to us?  Well today we live in the era of 401 k's, IRA's, and pension plans and a number of other financial vehicles. These are meant to prepare for self-preservation at retirement.  Please understand I am not against these things. I believe saving for retirement is a wise choice so that we may have abundance.

Abundance.  But I also think some of our money needs to go towards meeting the needs of others, especially the church.  Some studies have shown that some of the wealthiest people in America have been the ones who have given the most out of their abundance. 

Abundance. So my encouragement this morning is two fold. First, see how much you can afford to save each month, no matter how little or how much and be realistic about it. Don't cheat yourself, don't cheat others and most importantly DO NOT cheat God, remember Ananias and Sapphira from Acts 5:1-11. Secondly, I encourage you to take some of your money in an effort to help other's needs even if that simply means putting a few more dollars in the collection plate this coming Sunday.  Ultimately, how you give your money calls for wisdom. Use good judgment when doing this and if need be, seek the help of others to see how you can best use your money to both prepare for famine and meet the needs of others, especially in the church.  

Abundance.  The bottom line is trusting God to provide and God has provided us with tools so that we can be prepared for when the famine comes so that we might have abundance!

DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT! PRAY ABOUT IT! LOVE Y'ALL! GOD BLESS!