An offering given in faithful obedience is just right.

信而顺服的奉献，上帝必使之充足有余。

They ate and had some left over, according to the word of the . 2 Kings 4:44

他们吃了，果然还剩下，正如耶和华所说的。-列王纪下4章44节

When my husband and I were first asked to host a small group in our home, my immediate reaction was to decline. I felt inadequate. We didn’t have seats for everyone; our home was small and couldn’t hold many people. I didn’t know whether we had the skills to facilitate the discussion. I worried that I’d be asked to prepare food, something for which I lacked both passion and funds. I didn’t feel like we had “enough” to do it. I didn’t feel I was “enough” to do it. But we wanted to give to God and our community, so despite our fears, we agreed. Over the next five years we found great joy in welcoming the group into our living room.

当有人问我和丈夫能否在家中举办小组聚会时，我的第一个反应是不能。我觉得有许多不足之处。我家很小，没办法容纳这么多人，椅子也不够，我们更不确定自己有能力带领小组讨论。此外，我也很担心他们会要求我准备食物，不单是因为我本来就对烹饪不感兴趣，而且我也没有多余的钱。我觉得我们夫妻“没有足够”的资源，我自己更“不足”以做好这件事。然而，我们却实在希望能为上帝和社区做点事，因此虽然我们仍然担心，但还是答应了下来。在之后的五年里，我们因为开放客厅给小组聚会，享受了极大的喜乐。

I observe similar reluctance and doubt in the man who brought bread to God’s servant, Elisha. Elisha had instructed him to give it to the people, but the man questioned whether twenty loaves could feed so many—one hundred men. He seems to have been tempted to withhold the food because—in his human understanding—it wouldn’t be sufficient. Yet it was more than enough (2 Kings 4:44), because God took his gift, given in obedience, and made it enough.

我注意到圣经有个人也有相同的犹豫和怀疑。当这个人将20个饼送给上帝的仆人以利沙的时候，以利沙告诉这人把食物分给众人，但这人质疑说：20个饼怎够100个人吃呢？他似乎不愿意与众人分享这些食物，因为按照常理，这些饼肯定不够！没想到分了饼给众人后，却还有剩下的（列王纪下4章44节），上帝让那人因顺服所献上的食物，变成充足有余。

When we feel inadequate, or think what we have to offer isn’t sufficient, let’s remember that God asks us to give what we have in faithful obedience. He is the one who makes it “enough.”

当我们感到自己的不足，或觉得所献的不足时，千万记得：上帝要我们顺服，凭着信心献上我们所拥有的，祂能使一切变成充足有余。

Lord, when I fear what I have to give is insufficient, 

help me to give to You anyway and

 trust You to make it “enough.”

主啊，当我害怕所献不足时，

求祢帮助我能坚持献上，
并且相信，祢会使它成为充足有余。

INSIGHT

We may wonder about the purpose of the miracle recorded in today’s passage. It becomes a little clearer when we back up a few verses. In verses 38–41 Elisha had performed another food miracle where he made a pot of poisonous stew safe to eat. Because there was a famine in the land, the provision of food would have been one of the top concerns of the people. So both of these miracles—the curing of the poisonous stew and 20 loaves of bread feeding 100 people—are signs of God’s provision. It is interesting to note two key phrases in verses 43 and 44 that address the doubts of Elisha’s servant: “this is what the  says” and “according to the word of the .” The power of the Lord is what provides when we have little or nothing to offer.  

Reflect on a time when your resources were inadequate. How did God provide?

J.R. Hudberg

灵粮透视

我们可能疑惑，今天阅读的经文所记述的神迹有何目的。若我们看前面的几节经文，就会比较清楚。在38-41节中，以利沙行了另一件与饮食有关的神迹，就是让一锅有毒的菜汤变为安全无毒，可以食用。因为那时吉甲发生了饥荒，食物的供应成为人们最忧心的问题。因此，以利沙所行的两个神迹：有毒的菜汤变成安全无毒，以及20块饼让100人吃饱，都彰显出上帝的供应。要留意，第43和44节中有两个关键短句，解除了以利沙仆人的疑惑，那就是“因为耶和华如此说”，以及“正如耶和华所说的”。耶和华的大能在我们无能为力或一无所有时，供应我们的需要。

你是否也曾面对不足或缺乏的景况，那时上帝如何供应你呢？

2 Kings 4:42-44New International Version (NIV)

Feeding of a Hundred

42 A man came from Baal Shalishah, bringing the man of God twenty loaves of barley bread baked from the first ripe grain, along with some heads of new grain. “Give it to the people to eat,” Elisha said.

43 “How can I set this before a hundred men?” his servant asked.

But Elisha answered, “Give it to the people to eat. For this is what the Lord says: ‘They will eat and have some left over.’” 44 Then he set it before them, and they ate and had some left over, according to the word of the Lord.

列王纪下 4:42-44Chinese Union Version Modern Punctuation (Simplified) (CUVMPS)

以二十饼饱百人

42 有一个人从巴力沙利沙来，带着初熟大麦做的饼二十个并新穗子，装在口袋里送给神人。神人说：“把这些给众人吃。” 43 仆人说：“这一点岂可摆给一百人吃呢？”以利沙说：“你只管给众人吃吧，因为耶和华如此说：‘众人必吃了，还剩下。’”44 仆人就摆在众人面前。他们吃了，果然还剩下，正如耶和华所说的。

整理：于姊妹