My Share

Luke 15:12

” The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them.”

I love the story of the prodigal son.  This story is probably the one of the most recognized stories in the Bible.  Out of nowhere, the Lord told me to read the story again.  You know when you are reading the Bible and a verse pops out and you have to read it over and over again?  You try to read on but like John Eldredge says, “it just turns stale.”  Well, this is what the Lord showed me and maybe it will resonate with you.  

Jesus starts out by telling us that there was a man with two sons.  This story takes place inside the father’s house.  Some say this happens in church, yes, in church.  The place where we are all spiritual and holy.  The same place we find healing and restoration we may also find brokenness and hurt, the church. 

The younger son says to his father, “give me my share of the estate.”  The father outright gives him his share just like that.  No questions, no warnings, just here you go and have fun.  If this was any one of our kids this request would have been followed with much more and most likely a stern “NO!”. 

Well, the Lord said this is like most of the prayers He hears from the church.  A bunch of “give me my share”.  I am guilty of praying this kind of prayer and also just talking to God and saying, “it is about time that I get blessed, after all, I have been tithing for umpteenth years and attending church every Sunday!”  We are the younger son when we talk like this. 

Here is the punch that takes the wind out of me.  Verse 14, “After he has spent everything, there was a famine in the whole county, and he began to be in need.”  You have got to be kidding me God, a famine in the whole county?  You mean everywhere I turn there is nothing left?  The famine could not have come when I had a little to spare?  Did you have to wait until I had nothing?  Come on!  I guess ‘my share’ did not last long after all. 

Some of us need to hear this because we are caught up in a never ending “do loop” as they say in the computer world.  We do, do, and do. Or we take all of our share, count it, plan on it, plan with it, and spend it all. As we do this the Lord just waits until you run through it all and He sends a famine right about that time hoping that we will “come to our senses” (vs. 17). 

The Bible says that earth is the Lord’s and everything in it, everything (Psalm 24:1-3).  Some of us need to realize we are asking the Lord for things that will only be ‘squandered’, my share, they say.  I am going to take what is mine!  Me me me me.  The Lord just sits back and watches until you come to your senses.  If you are in the same place the younger son was at, hiring yourself out for nothing and having nothing left at all, then you need to come to your senses. 

Today, stop putting all that effort in getting “my share” when the Lord has all you need.  Maybe you need to realize the famine you are in is a self-inflicted hard time that the Lord is waiting on you to snap out of it.  Snap out of what?  You don’t have a share, that’s what, it all belongs to the Lord, all of it. Start living life like the Lord has ‘GIVEN’ you all that you have instead saying the you need ‘MY SHARE’. 

Prayer: Father, too often we bark and complain about not getting our share of something. Whether that be money, promotion, or relationships we seem to fall back and take possession of something that is not ours at all.  I pray today that we would lay all those worldly crowns that we have been holding onto at your feet Lord. Our everything comes from you and we put my trust in you. I pray that we come to our senses and go back to you in all that we do just like the younger son. In Jesus name I pray, amen.