Dear Friends,
An article from the Christian Science Monitor, May 16, 2013, shares a lovely “new-old” idea regarding abundance and how to deal with any sense of lack. To read it from the Monitor where it originally appeared, click here.
A suffering economy, a suffering landscape, a suffering body, the common denominator just might be our thinking! But are we listening for…
The Sound of Abundance
Lots of media attention has been focused on economic crises in the United States lately – from the fiscal cliff to the “sequester” to the debt ceiling. Pundits and politicians are concerned about what will happen to the economy as tax cuts expire or as spending cuts kick in. But while it’s important to understand what’s happening in the news, we can also rely on our universal Father-Mother, God, to tell us where our true source of supply comes from.
Elijah, the prophet, had to exercise this kind of spiritual reliance during a time of extreme drought and famine (see I Kings 18). God spoke to him and told him to let Ahab, the King of Israel, know there would be rain. Elijah obeyed, and said to Ahab, “Get thee up, eat and drink; for there is a sound of abundance of rain” (I Kings 18:41). At that point, there was no indication of rain – but Elijah climbed up to Mt. Carmel and directed his servant to look for clouds. Initially, his servant saw nothing, but Elijah commanded him to look again seven times. Sure enough, on the seventh time, his servant saw “a little cloud out of the sea, like a man’s hand.” I Kings goes on to record, “And it came to pass in the mean while, that the heaven was black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain.”

Elijah was so sure that God would break the drought and bring rain that he described it as the “sound of abundance” even before this abundance was evident to a casual observer. Could it be that God’s promise was so tangible to Elijah that he actually heard it before it appeared? He wasn’t listening to famished thoughts of drought, but to the truth of what God was revealing about the continuity of His own abundant goodness. Furthermore, Elijah didn’t waiver in his conviction – even though his servant looked six times and still saw no rain. Elijah clearly felt no apprehension that God wouldn’t come through, and continued to cling to the divine promise of God’s enduring goodness. And when his servant at first saw a “little cloud,” Elijah didn’t limit God’s promise by saying, “Oh, well, God came through but it’s only a little bit of rain.” His example showed that whatever God does must be abundant.Continue Reading