Enough is Enough

People keep telling you that you should be satisfied.  After all, you have received blessing after blessing and you already have more than some could ever hope for.  Still, you are not satisfied.  There is a gnawing feeling of emptiness.   Something on the inside keeps pushing for more.  You try to suppress it because maybe it is greed.  But maybe it isn't greed, maybe it's God. It can be a hard thing to determine when enough is enough.

In the Bible there is a lesson that can help us with this.  A man named Samuel had two wives, Hannah and Peninnah.  Peninnah had born children with Samuel, but Hannah had not.  Nonetheless, Samuel favored Hannah because his heart was with her.  The Bible says that when Samuel would give his offering, he would give Peninnah and their children portions, but he would give Hannah a worthy portion.  In other words, Hannah was loved and well taken care of and she had everything she needed and more.  Hannah, though, was dissatisfied.  Samuel could not understand why Hannah wasn't happy.  He had given her everything he could possibly give her.  When would enough be enough? Samuel's reaction can represent mistakes that we often make.  For one, Samuel was trying to impose his level of satisfaction on Hannah. He supposed that what would satisfy him, should also satisfy Hannah.  We must understand, though, that God has given each of us our own purpose.  Therefore, our needs will vary as our purposes vary.  Secondly, Samuel was making the mistake of trying to be Hannah's everything.  As much as we want to be and as hard as we may try, we will surely find that we could never be everything to any person. Only God can do that.

Fortunately, Hannah was a wise woman.  With no disrespect shown to Samuel who had been a blessing to her, she sought out what she knew in the core of her being that she was missing. The wisest thing about Hannah'so decision was who she sought out for provision of her need.  She sought out God.  She went to God in prayer about the desire of her heart and he orchestrated events so that she received her desire.

So what can we learn about when enough is enough in this Bible lesson.  We learn that wanting more can sometimes be out of need, not out of greed. We learn that no other person should set the bar for what is enough for us.  We also learned that when we feel like there should be more, like something is missing...the one we should seek is God.  God is the only being that knows whether or not it would be best for us to have what we desire and he is the only one who is not limited in his power to make it come to pass. 

Scripture:
Psalm 37:4 Delight yourself in the Lord; And He will give you the desires of your heart

Prayer:
Lord, you have created us for great things.  Teach us to seek you first in all things and help us to go for more with wisdom and purity of heart. Amen.