day 1137: Reserves

"...Give us our food day by day."

It would be a very unlikely Board meeting that someone wasn't looking at the cash reserves of the company and making a projection of how much was needed over a future time period.  The cash reserves are a surplus to be invested/spent on acquisitions/R&D or delivered back to the shareholders at some point.  Or, the cash reserve is the tank by which the company that is not yet at cash flow positive survives.  Either way, cash reserves telling to the overall health of the company.  With way too much cash on the balance sheet (e.g., Apple) one must wonder if the company is being aggressive enough in their innovation or market expansion.  With too little cash then the company can't take risks either and spend too much time in fundraising mode.  Analysts and investors look at cash reserves as an important part of the narrative of the company.  Too much, too little, hoarding, overspending, etc. are all part of the balancing act of an organization and the actions/measures it must take to grow and thrive...or survive.

We face our own reserve challenges, whether it be cash, savings, energy or time.  God does not teach us to store up any of these while on earth but instead to look daily for our supply.  The Israelites received manna from heaven daily and were given a limited amount of time that it would last.  Why didn't God just load them up and be done with it?  Because, He wants us to trust in Him, not on ourselves or other people.  That is why He taught us to pray for our daily food  That word daily is all about our cadence of trust and reliance on Him.  If we are not returning to Him at least daily then we need to question what are we doing with our reserves and if we are storing up too much of us and not enough of Him?

Reference: Luke 11:3 (New Living Translation)