Exodus 36:6, 7  Then Moses gave an order and they sent this word throughout the camp: “No man or woman is to make anything else as an offering for the sanctuary.” And so the people were restrained from bringing more, because what they already had was more than enough to do all the work. (NIV)

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“ . . . because what they already had was more than enough to do all the work.”

“Where God guides,” say it with me, “God provides.”

Where did all these supplies come from? From the plunder of the Egyptians. (See Exodus 12:35, 36.)

Why did people give these gifts so freely? After camping for a year at Mount Sinai, they realized all they considered precious and necessary when they left Egypt had become nothing more than clutter in their tents. All of their treasures were too much of a burden to carry through the wilderness. These gifts were most valuable in honoring God, not in decorating tents. 

What would benefit you to give away?

What burdens weigh you down or keep you locked in place unnecessarily?

How can God use the gifts you place in his hands, the same hands that gave them to you in the first place, to bless the lives of others?

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I will declutter my life by living more simply and generously.

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Our Father, there are burdens we carry today that remind us of your graciousness in days gone by. Bless us with the shift in perspective that reminds us that your past faithfulness will never become less so moving forward. In fact, your greatest gifts lie beyond what we clutch so strenuously now. Amen.