"There
is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two small fish, but what
are they among so many?"...And Jesus took the loaves, and when He had
given thanks He distributed them to the disciples, and the disciples to
those sitting down; and likewise of the fish, as much as they
wanted. So when they were filled, He said to His disciples, "Gather up the fragments that remain, so that nothing is lost." Therefore they
gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the
five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten. John
6:9, 11-13 (NKJV)
"If
you don't have enough for everyone don't bring it!" How many of us
heard this from a teacher in school? How many of us actually obeyed this
rule? How many of us still brought our "stuff" and tried to be more
stealth in our attempt to hide them from the eagle-eyed teacher because
we had no intention of sharing our "just-enough-for-me" goodies? We knew
that we didn't have enough for everyone and sharing would mean less for
us.
We
can see a similar situation as Jesus is ministering to 5,000 plus
people in a deserted place near Galilee. They followed Him because of
the great works He was doing. They have been there ALL day. They are in
need of nourishment. Their only supply line is a boy with two fish and
five loaves. Wait! There are 5,000 plus people and their only hope is a
little boy with two fish and five loaves? Personally, I find it hard to
believe that out of 5,000 plus people only one little boy had food. I am
willing to stretch my imagination that a few others had a stash of
"goodies" on them yet did not offer it up because they felt it wasn't
enough for everyone. The difference between the little boy and the
others who may have had food was his willingness to offer up what little
he had to Jesus. That "little bit" was miraculously transformed into
"more than enough" in the hands of Jesus.
How
many times have we withheld our "goodies" because they seem inadequate
for the need? We all have "goodies", those gifts and talents the Lord
wants to use to bless others. We must be like the little boy and have
the courage, willingness, and faith to release them into hands of Jesus.
It is fine to acknowledge that the needs we are faced with are too
great for human strength to satisfy, that what we have seems inadequate
for the job. This is the point we are reminded that God's strength is
made perfect in our weakness. Our inadequacies are a proving ground for
God to manifest himself as a more than adequate God!
We
should never let ourselves or others minimize or marginalize what we
bring to the Kingdom table. Our two fish and five loaves may be an
encouraging word, a song, a dance or a prayer. It may be administrative
gifts to lift the burden of someone else. It may be gifts of service or
hospitality or maybe cleaning the kitchen after a service. Maybe it's
caring for someone's child while they are serving. It could be
anything. We all have our own version of the two fish and five loaves of
bread. The question is are we willing to release them into the hands of
the Master to be used to bless others.
When
we decide to release our "little bit" it becomes "more than enough". We
are then able to be a blessing to others outside of our immediate
surroundings, so much so, that we won't even know who was filled by it.
The little boy didn't know each and every person whose need was met by
his offering. When we trust the Lord with our gifts we can be assured
that it will be more than enough to meet the need of the situation and
we shall be filled as well. The disciples picked up twelve baskets full
of leftovers. That is supernatural, heavenly increase of what was
released for the Kingdom. When we release our "goodies" to Jesus, and
allow Him to take them, break them as He sees fit, and bless them for
kingdom use we will see others being blessed beyond what we can imagine.
Let's
encourage ourselves and others in knowing our seemingly inadequate
offering to the kingdom has the power to be more than enough in hands of
Jesus!
Showing posts with label trust. Show all posts
Showing posts with label trust. Show all posts
February 11, 2014
February 08, 2014
A Cup of Stillness
Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth! Psalm 46:10 (NKJV) (Please read Psalm 46 in its entirety)
As little girl I would often dread the process involved with the care of my hair. I had long, thick and coarse, or as we say, "nappy", hair that took time and patience to maintain. Although the outcome was beautiful I disliked the process. My least favorite part was always the pressing or "straightening" comb. The intense heat of the metal coming out of the fire, and the smell and sound of sizzling hair was enough to make my heart beat two times faster than normal. Yet I knew if I would just be still and trust the beautician to do her job, and follow her directions, all would turn out beautiful. Then, at the completion of the process, everyone would know I had been to beautician that day.
It is often the same with life. Sometimes we are called to deal with "nappy" situations, those rough and coarse spots in life that take the trained and loving hands of God to straighten out for us. He requires our stillness, obedience, and complete trust in Him to do what He knows is best for us.
We can trust God to straighten things out for us. We may hear the sizzling in our ears at times. The fear, doubt, worry, shame and helplessness that makes us want to cringe is loud, but we must "be still, don't move". The burning smell of our circumstances, a lost job, broken relationships, sickness, or ministry woes may be wafting heavily in the air. Our only response should be, "be still, don't move".
We can trust God to handle those things. He is the Master Stylist who knows the very number of hairs on our head. We can trust Him to take those "nappy" situations and style them into a beautiful array of blessing for us. Then, everyone will know we have been in the hands our Master Stylist. Our responsibility is to show up for the appointment and let the Master do His work. Our job is to "Be still and know that He is God"!
"Be still; don't move" ….
As little girl I would often dread the process involved with the care of my hair. I had long, thick and coarse, or as we say, "nappy", hair that took time and patience to maintain. Although the outcome was beautiful I disliked the process. My least favorite part was always the pressing or "straightening" comb. The intense heat of the metal coming out of the fire, and the smell and sound of sizzling hair was enough to make my heart beat two times faster than normal. Yet I knew if I would just be still and trust the beautician to do her job, and follow her directions, all would turn out beautiful. Then, at the completion of the process, everyone would know I had been to beautician that day.
It is often the same with life. Sometimes we are called to deal with "nappy" situations, those rough and coarse spots in life that take the trained and loving hands of God to straighten out for us. He requires our stillness, obedience, and complete trust in Him to do what He knows is best for us.
We can trust God to straighten things out for us. We may hear the sizzling in our ears at times. The fear, doubt, worry, shame and helplessness that makes us want to cringe is loud, but we must "be still, don't move". The burning smell of our circumstances, a lost job, broken relationships, sickness, or ministry woes may be wafting heavily in the air. Our only response should be, "be still, don't move".
We can trust God to handle those things. He is the Master Stylist who knows the very number of hairs on our head. We can trust Him to take those "nappy" situations and style them into a beautiful array of blessing for us. Then, everyone will know we have been in the hands our Master Stylist. Our responsibility is to show up for the appointment and let the Master do His work. Our job is to "Be still and know that He is God"!
February 05, 2014
A Cup of Courage
“The LORD our God spoke to us in Horeb, saying: ‘You have dwelt long enough at this mountain…21
Look, the LORD your God has set the land before you; go up and possess
it, as the LORD God of your fathers has spoken to you; do not fear or be
discouraged.’ Deuteronomy 1:6, 21 (NKJV)
Here is “the great stand still”. I am sure we all, like the children of Israel, have our moments when we just don't feel like we're ready to move on to higher ground. Yes, we grow tired of dwelling in our own personal “Horebs”, which represents that dry place of desolation where nothing seems to be growing. It is the place where the air is thick and the land is barren. We know there is something better ahead for us. We know our “Kadesh”, that place which is set apart for purpose, is waiting for us to arrive. We build up the courage and strength to make our move to our Kadesh. But then something happens that keeps us from fully entering into our place of purpose.
Like the children of Israel we begin to look at the sacrifices it will take to enter our place of purpose. We hesitate. We make excuses. We allow ourselves to be discouraged and distracted by the voices and opinions of others. We allow fear to elevate itself in our minds. Then, we get stuck at the bottom of the mountain,circling our purpose but hesitating to embrace it. Sometimes we walk away from it all together and go back to that place of discouragement and distraction, which yields no fruit for God's glory.
My friends, the time has come to possess the land that has been set apart just for you! You have dwelt long enough at the bottom of the mountain where fear, indecision, and discouragement run amuck. You have a purpose to be fulfilled and a destiny to be revealed. You must make the decision to go up in the confidence and boldness of the Lord. He has a prepared purpose for you. You must be prepared for your purpose.
Do not fear what lies ahead. Do not fear the sacrifices that will be necessary for success. Just decide that you are tired of dwelling at the bottom of the mountain and go up and possess your land and give God’s will a chance to manifest itself.
Here is “the great stand still”. I am sure we all, like the children of Israel, have our moments when we just don't feel like we're ready to move on to higher ground. Yes, we grow tired of dwelling in our own personal “Horebs”, which represents that dry place of desolation where nothing seems to be growing. It is the place where the air is thick and the land is barren. We know there is something better ahead for us. We know our “Kadesh”, that place which is set apart for purpose, is waiting for us to arrive. We build up the courage and strength to make our move to our Kadesh. But then something happens that keeps us from fully entering into our place of purpose.
Like the children of Israel we begin to look at the sacrifices it will take to enter our place of purpose. We hesitate. We make excuses. We allow ourselves to be discouraged and distracted by the voices and opinions of others. We allow fear to elevate itself in our minds. Then, we get stuck at the bottom of the mountain,circling our purpose but hesitating to embrace it. Sometimes we walk away from it all together and go back to that place of discouragement and distraction, which yields no fruit for God's glory.
My friends, the time has come to possess the land that has been set apart just for you! You have dwelt long enough at the bottom of the mountain where fear, indecision, and discouragement run amuck. You have a purpose to be fulfilled and a destiny to be revealed. You must make the decision to go up in the confidence and boldness of the Lord. He has a prepared purpose for you. You must be prepared for your purpose.
Do not fear what lies ahead. Do not fear the sacrifices that will be necessary for success. Just decide that you are tired of dwelling at the bottom of the mountain and go up and possess your land and give God’s will a chance to manifest itself.
A Cup of Trust
Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in you. In God (I will praise
His word), In God I have put my trust; I will not fear. What can flesh
do to me? Psalm 56:3, 4
Being afraid happens to all of us no matter how mighty, how wise, how brave, how powerful or how anointed we are. It happens! King David was afraid. This is after he has boasted about killing a lion and a bear; after he killed the giant, Goliath, and after he was chosen and anointed to be king. He was a skilled musician, a warrior and even kind of handsome, yet he, like all of us, had his moments of fear. Yet, it was his response to the stressors that provoked his fear that made the difference. It will be the same for us also.
Being afraid is just a state of mind within a circumstance. Fear is a natural reaction to that circumstance and actually reverencing that situation above what we know to be true about our God. Trusting God, on the other hand, in that space of fear is a conscience effort. Trusting in God is taking refuge in Him. It is being confident and placing your hope in Him. Trusting God enables you to praise Him in the midst of your fear. Your ability to praise God in the midst of a fearful situation will immediately change the focus of your thoughts and feelings about the situation. Praise instantly elevates God’s power to save, protect, deliver, heal, and manifest His victory above any “fleshly” circumstance you may find yourself faced with at any given time.
Fear is natural. Trusting in and praising God in the midst of your fear is SUPERNATURAL! I encourage you to read Psalm 56 in its entirety and then answer the following questions:
Being afraid happens to all of us no matter how mighty, how wise, how brave, how powerful or how anointed we are. It happens! King David was afraid. This is after he has boasted about killing a lion and a bear; after he killed the giant, Goliath, and after he was chosen and anointed to be king. He was a skilled musician, a warrior and even kind of handsome, yet he, like all of us, had his moments of fear. Yet, it was his response to the stressors that provoked his fear that made the difference. It will be the same for us also.
Being afraid is just a state of mind within a circumstance. Fear is a natural reaction to that circumstance and actually reverencing that situation above what we know to be true about our God. Trusting God, on the other hand, in that space of fear is a conscience effort. Trusting in God is taking refuge in Him. It is being confident and placing your hope in Him. Trusting God enables you to praise Him in the midst of your fear. Your ability to praise God in the midst of a fearful situation will immediately change the focus of your thoughts and feelings about the situation. Praise instantly elevates God’s power to save, protect, deliver, heal, and manifest His victory above any “fleshly” circumstance you may find yourself faced with at any given time.
Fear is natural. Trusting in and praising God in the midst of your fear is SUPERNATURAL! I encourage you to read Psalm 56 in its entirety and then answer the following questions:
- What promise can I claim from this passage?
- What attitude or behavior do I need to change?
- Who can I share this with today?
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