At Home with Susan
Monthly Column by Susan Sikes

As a wife and mother, it is an amazing feeling to take a look at your pantry and see that it is well-stocked. Knowing that we have plenty for our families makes us feel like great providers. I love it when my children have friends over and they have a variety of snacks to choose from. Other benefits to “stocking up” include saving money and time. The less trips you make to the grocery store the more time and money you save.

Of course it is a good idea to stock up when items are on sale. However, that usually means a little extra money for the week that may not be budgeted. I used to think that it took money to save money. That was before I learned about coupons. Did you know that by getting several sets of coupons each week, you can get lots of free products? This is the best way I know of to keep your pantry (and other areas in the house) full.

The Lord even gives examples of keeping your pantry stocked throughout the Bible. Noah was told in Genesis 6:21 to take every kind of food that would be eaten and to store it away for his family and all of the animals. Can you imagine Noah’s pantry running low? We might have a few more extinct species of animals if Noah had not stockpiled as the Lord directed.

Remember the time Pharaoh had the dream about the seven lean cows and seven fat cows? The Lord used Joseph to prepare the entire country of Egypt for a famine that would not occur for seven more years. In these preparations of “stocking up,” not only was Egypt saved, but the nation of Israel was also rescued.

My favorite example of being well prepared is Abigail. She definitely had her pantry stocked. King David and his men were hungry. They had asked Abigail’s husband, Nabal, to help them out, but he refused. David was so angry that he planned to kill him. When Abigail found out about her husband’s foolishness, she immediately took action. The Bible says in
1 Samuel 25:18, “She took two hundred loaves of bread, two skins of wine, five dressed sheep, five seahs of roasted grain, one hundred cakes of raisins, and two hundred cakes of pressed figs.” How many of us have that much lying around the house? Due to her preparedness and generosity, she kept her husband from being killed by David. However, he ended up dying a few days later, and she married the king! There is something to be said for being prepared.

Do you see something else that these three stories have in common? They not only had their pantries filled, but their spiritual pantries were full as well. For us to hear what the Lord is telling us to do, we must be stockpiling scripture. By storing and memorizing God’s Word, we will be able to pull out what we need at the appointed time. I want to make an effort to keep my pantry filled with scripture, prayer, meditation, and the fruit of the Spirit. The best part of spiritual stockpiling is that it will not take you over budget and you do not have to cut coupons! Just ask the Lord to do the filling.

© 2007 by Susan Sikes