Think back to the Exodus with me, specifically chapter 16 and the story of the mana. You remember…God responded graciously to the Hebrews’ grumbling and provided food for them daily; they just had to go out and pick up what they needed each day. Imagine it – these newly freed slaves who had survived for generations in a system of constant scarcity woke up every morning in a camp surrounded by the bread of heaven.

But as the story unfolds, we see that God actually provided more than they needed. Scripture tells us that when people gathered more than they needed, their hoarding led to rotting mana.

In Slow Theology, A.J. Swoboda and Nijay Gupta reference this story, and they used a phrase that caught my attention: “Holy restraint.” Embedded in the gift of manna was the invitation to discern. “There is more here than I need. How much is really for us?”

Holy restraint applies to doers, dreamers, strivers, and achievers as much (or maybe even more) than hungry Hebrews.

For people who make things happen, who lead organizations that solve problems, who know how to get things done – opportunities to do more abound. Vision creep, whether personal or corporate, happens when we assume that every new invitation or idea is evidence of God’s blessing and a green light. They are not. They, like the abundance of manna, is an invitation to discern, “There is more here than I need. How much is really for us?”

For more on this topic, check out our YouVersion Devotional Plan “Meaningful Work in Seasons of Transition.”