More than Enough...

This past week we ministered in one of the slums in our city and handed out clothes to the kids. This is much easier to plan than to actually do. We knew we would be bombared but that didn't stop us. We went with a plan of action to keep it civil, but that didn't work for long. Before long we had a crowd of about 50 mothers and children reaching into our car grabbing whatever they could reach. At times we saw children that looked to be 10 or so grab infant clothing and run off.  What broke my heart is that we had more than enough for everyone to get some, but in their rush to get something they didn't get the right one that would fit them.

Life is hard for them. They live just to get by everyday...so naturally when someone comes to give them something they feel like they have to push others aside and grab whatever they can. It's basically survival mode. Even the littlest ones have already learned this.

In the midst of all that chaos of children pushing and grabbing and our car being mobbed basically, I heard God say, "I have more than enough for all of them." And it was true, we had boxes and boxes ready to distribute, we even tried to yell it out and tell them so they could calm down..but they didn't believe us. I thought about God and how He wants them to know that He died so that there is enough for them...the curse of sickness and poverty is broken by his blood.

Driving home, a litte frazzled and shaken, I thought about how desperate they must be to go that crazy over one pair of clothes. When was the last time you were that desperate for clothes?? I thought about how much more the kids could have gotten had they listened to what we were telling them and followed our instructions...I thought about how God said He has more than enough...and I thought about me and about how I am sometimes afraid to trust Him even though He tells me that He is more than enough to carry me and to provide for me. I dont know how many time I tried to grab at something and make it happen, or reach for something that didn't fit me but I wanted it anyways...all the while God was saying, be patient..wait on me...I have something coming for you that is going be perfect.

God's supply is infinite...I dont know how many times we have felt like it is going to run out, not gonna be enough. As ministers, when we see someone else being blessed it easy to feel like the supply is diminishing if it goes somewhere else, or to someone else, but time and time again, He says, "I have more than enough for you."

Trying to tell them, "one at a time..."..(it didn't work)

 I pray that those kids in the slum will experience His love for them one day. I pray that they will see Christ in us and know that He is near to them even when we leave.

  

                              (This is where they live, under a bridge near the railroad station in makeshift tents.)