Let's Go Shopping

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esterday morning, I embarked on that great American adventure known as a visit to the local supermarket!  Yep!  I went in with all the prowess of a professional hunter, determined not to come out until I had a kill!  With my list in one hand and my checkbook in the other, I moved quickly forward, confident in my ability to return with a successful catch.

Now, a visit to the grocery store isn't this romantic.  Very few of us anticipate entering the store with the expectations of a big game hunter. It requires very little knowledge or skill to approach the meat aisle and simply select meat that has already been killed, dressed, and packaged.  It isn't very challenging to reach up on the shelf to find a can of soup.  The real problem is in choosing which can of soup you want.  Every aisle is simply chock full of items from which we may choose.  The supply of foods is endless it seems and every row holds something new for us to consider.

As I perused each aisle, I was able to find all the items on my list.  My cart slowly filled with the items I needed and soon it was time to leave the store.  Before I left home, my list looked incredibly long.  I wasn't sure if I could find all the items nor if there would be enough room at home to accommodate them all.  But in the checkout lane, the number of items I selected paled in comparison to the entire stock of the grocery store.  My worries about not finding certain items were simply unwarranted.  Even if I had wanted to, it would have been impossible for me to exhaust the supply of groceries housed in this store.  There was simply more there than I could ever hope to use.

The Apostle Paul would have understood my amazement at the enormous supply of the grocery store compared with my small needs.  In his second letter to the Corinthians, Paul addresses the sufficiency and overabundance of God's provision for his people.  In the New Living Translation of 2 Corinthians 9:8, Paul writes, "And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others."  Today in the grocery store, Paul's point hit home.  The items in my cart were as nothing compared with the overall inventory of the store.  I purchased one can of soup, and I left several hundred there.  I purchased one loaf of bread, leaving countless others on the shelf.  In no way did my small purchase drastically diminish the store's supply.

This is what God is like!  No, I'm not suggesting that God is a great big grocery store where we shop at our leisure.  But I am stating that God does supply all our needs and our needs in no way even remotely begin to tap his resources.  When we come to him in prayer and present him with the list of our needs, he never says "Let me check to see if I have that in stock!"  His supply of love is endless, his grace is boundless, his mercy cannot be measured, and his understanding cannot be fathomed.  He is ever ready to hear our requests and he openly invites us to come to him and boldly make our desires known. 

When we obey him, he opens to us all his riches, and his riches are in Jesus Christ.  At anytime, day or night, in any location, we may come to God and present our lists. We can get our carts filled, confident in the knowledge that when we our needs arise once more, he will be more than able to fulfill them over and over and over again.  So, today if you are in need of experiencing more of God's love, if you feel the need for more of God's grace, if you are longing for a deeper relationship with him, or if you desire a more profound knowledge of your Heavenly Father, all you have to do is go shopping! Everything is always in stock!