Neither Poverty Nor Riches

Give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is my portion. - Proverbs 30:8

As the nation of Israel grew hungry on their journey to the Promised Land, God provided manna from heaven. Every morning they would arise to a fresh batch and with each passing day were taught to depend upon God's provision. Jesus, instructing His disciples on how to pray and harkening back to that wilderness dependence even included this phrase, "Give us this day our daily bread."

Poverty can lead us to devise our own methods of meeting personal need. Wealth, on the other hand, can lead us to trust in our own provision. Since both poverty and wealth have the ability to drive us away from complete dependence upon God, the writer prayed for neither one.

Let's face it, this life is sometimes "feast" and sometimes "famine," but whichever it may be for us, we need to learn to depend on Him.

The contented person experiences the sufficiency of God’s provision for his needs and the sufficiency of God’s grace for his circumstances. - Jerry Bridges