My some friends of mine did an interesting experiment a few weeks ago. They told everyone to pray and bring whatever cooking ingredient they felt the Lord was prompting them to bring, and then made something out of the resulting hodgepodge of foods. It was a fun night, and really quite a riot to see the stuff people brought, as well as the ending concoction. It wasn't nearly as toxic as it could have been - we all got there, took stock of our inventory, and made what we could with what we had.
It's easy to do the same thing with our own lives. We look at what the Lord has given us, take stock of our talents and deficiencies, and then make an assessment of what we could do with what we have for God's kingdom. The problem is, in our eyes we almost always come up short. So often we excuse ourselves from God's greater vision, because we don't think that we have enough to work with. Paralyzed by insecurities, we sit back and allow the enemy to neutralize our abilities and the effect that they could have on eternity.
But focusing on what we lack makes us forget about God's all-sufficiency. It makes us forget that what we have - whatever it may be - is more than enough for God. God has a history of using people who have little to give. He used Moses' simple staff to part the Red Sea. He used 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish to feed thousands of people. He used a jar of oil to save a widow and her sons from destitution and slavery.
The next time that you take stock of your life, don't convince yourself that you don't have what you need to be used by God. God can use anything and everything. Ask God what it is that you have right now, and be obedient with that. Instead of saying, "I can't," start asking God to use what you have right now. Your greatest weakness may be God's greatest opportunity.
It's easy to do the same thing with our own lives. We look at what the Lord has given us, take stock of our talents and deficiencies, and then make an assessment of what we could do with what we have for God's kingdom. The problem is, in our eyes we almost always come up short. So often we excuse ourselves from God's greater vision, because we don't think that we have enough to work with. Paralyzed by insecurities, we sit back and allow the enemy to neutralize our abilities and the effect that they could have on eternity.
But focusing on what we lack makes us forget about God's all-sufficiency. It makes us forget that what we have - whatever it may be - is more than enough for God. God has a history of using people who have little to give. He used Moses' simple staff to part the Red Sea. He used 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish to feed thousands of people. He used a jar of oil to save a widow and her sons from destitution and slavery.
The next time that you take stock of your life, don't convince yourself that you don't have what you need to be used by God. God can use anything and everything. Ask God what it is that you have right now, and be obedient with that. Instead of saying, "I can't," start asking God to use what you have right now. Your greatest weakness may be God's greatest opportunity.
1 Kings 4:1-7
The wife of a man from the company of the prophets cried out to Elisha, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that he revered the Lord. But now his creditor is coming to take my two boys as his slaves.” 2 Elisha replied to her, “How can I help you? Tell me, what do you have in your house?” “Your servant has nothing there at all,” she said, “except a small jar of olive oil.” 3 Elisha said, “Go around and ask all your neighbors for empty jars. Don’t ask for just a few. 4 Then go inside and shut the door behind you and your sons. Pour oil into all the jars, and as each is filled, put it to one side.” 5 She left him and shut the door behind her and her sons. They brought the jars to her and she kept pouring. 6 When all the jars were full, she said to her son, “Bring me another one.” But he replied, “There is not a jar left.” Then the oil stopped flowing. 7 She went and told the man of God, and he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debts. You and your sons can live on what is left.”
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