There are many habits that my mother modeled and I’ve adopted. For example, doing my best not to operate in the spirit of procrastination, doing something immediately when the Holy Spirit brings it to my mind and talking to myself. Hey don’t judge us! And the longer we live together, I also realize that there are so, so many more attributes that I could add to and subsequently bless my life.

Recently, as we prepared to go to the grocery store, I noticed the list that my mom began creating. There was seasoning salt as one item. When we traveled to the store, the seasoning isle was quite bare. In fact, it’s been that way I’ve noticed since Thanksgiving. I’m uncertain if it’s because everyone is cooking more while sheltering in place or if it’s a supply chain issue – but either way, staples such as black pepper or crushed red pepper are hard to come by. I was able to locate about three smaller bottles of seasoning salt, so I secured one and continued on our trek through the isles. When we reached home and began unpacking the groceries, I opened the cabinet by which we store our seasonings and noticed that there indeed was a bottle of Lawrey’s (our family’s choice for seasoning salt) on the shelf. I picked up it up and noticed that there was still, judging by the heaviness, a significant amount left. I laughed aloud to myself. You see, in my world, I often wait until I’m just about out of something before replacing. In my mom’s world, and in God, the assurance is made, that we never run out.

Ever feel like you are at your wit’s end? Feel as though you have nothing left to give? That sentiment is not foreign or unfamiliar to God, but we can rest assured that He is positioning, posturing and providing what we need in advance of our ability to recognize or connect to our emptiness. God has a methodology of superseding the toll that life and circumstances and situations have taken upon us, and grant us what we stand in need of before we run out. God is able to anticipate our anguish, bestow our brokenness, compensate our challenge and decrease our despair simply through and by His acumen. The Word of God confirms that we are the salt of the earth – even when we don’t feel too salty. Matthew 5:13 affirms, “Let me tell you why you are here. You’re here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavors of this earth. If you lose your saltiness, how will people taste godliness? You’ve lost your usefulness and will end up in the garbage.” As in the case of our home seasoning chronicle, we must as believers, ensure that we are taking the necessary precautions to demonstrate and extend to others the goodness of God. We do that by taking actionable and deliberate steps to get what we need in advance of when we need it! We pray and praise daily in advance of that work meeting with the colleague that keeps you on your needs. We worship God in advance of the time when we are left speechless from a difficult diagnosis. We honor God by our presence of going to the house of worship for when we are unable to because of a pandemic. We encourage each other in the body of Christ for we never know when we will need similar affirmation. We do what is necessary in order to ensure that we never run out and that we never lose our usefulness in the Kingdom of God.

We must make it a general practice to check our spiritual cupboards. May we take inventory of when we are running low and take the steps to replenish, restore, renew and recover in Christ Jesus. May we be compelled to restock as often as grace and mercy allow. I pray that whatever you are facing, that you recall that God’s love for us never runs out and accordingly, we do not find ourselves withholding the substance that the earth needs through us, by us and within us.