Using what you already have

Do you find yourself always wanting more? Whether it is money, time, energy or some other resource, I often find myself asking God for more. Maybe you have found yourself doing the same.

Very recently however, God has been revealing to me that He does not want to add more of anything to my life, until I hand over what I have to him. Why? So that He can do more with it than I ever could.

This idea has strong basis in scripture. The second chapter of John in the New Testament records the first miracle of Jesus. He turned water into wine at a wedding feast. But it is interesting to note that it was only after the servants at the wedding were willing to exchange what they had, six, thirty gallon vats of water, that Jesus gave them what He had, the power to perform a miracle.

In John six, we read that Jesus preformed the miracle of feeding five thousand people. But it was only after a little boy gave him what He had, five loaves and two fish, that the miraculous was accomplished.

In second Kings Chapter 4, we read of the prophet Elisha who helped a widow in poverty who’s children were about to be sold into slavery because she could not pay her debt. The prophet asks her; “what do you have?” She replies, “nothing, accept a little bit of oil.” The prophet tells her to collect as many jars from her neighbors as she can. She does so and brings them home. As a result of her taking inventory of what she had at home and in the community, God performs a miracle and she ends up with more oil than she can contain and is able to pay her debt.

In each of these cases, it is interesting that God only performed the miraculous after He asked for an inventory of what the people requiring the miracle already had.

Does God need water, fish, oil or anything else in order to do the miraculous? No, but he seems to want to open our eyes to the things He has already provided, as a starting point for providing more and greater things. So if your challenge today is a lack of, time, energy, money or faith, offer back to God the little bit that you do have. Don’t try to evaluate it and say; “this isn’t valuable,” “this isn’t enough” or ask “What’s God going to do with this?” That’s his problem. Just take your inventory, hand it over to him and give him the opportunity to do the miraculous in your life.

- Terry Harris

Diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy when he was two years old, Terry Harris in the opinion of many experts within the medical and education professions, would never walk, talk, read, write or go to a regular school. It was recommended to his parents that he beplaced in an institution. In 1995 Terry graduated from Brock University with a B.A. in English Literature and obtained a degree in marriage and family therapy in 1999 from Tyndale Seminary. Today Terry coordinates an academic support program for children of offenders with the John Howard Society of Kingston.