Give Me What You Have

Mark 8:5-8, "And He asked them, How many loaves have you? They said, Seven. And He commanded the multitude to recline upon the ground, and He [then] took the seven loaves [of bread] and, having given thanks, He broke them and kept on giving them to His disciples to put before [the people], and they placed them before the crowd. And they had a few small fish; and when He had praised God and given thanks and asked Him to bless them [to their use], He ordered that these also should be set before [them], and they ate and were satisfied; and they took up seven [large provision] baskets full of the broken pieces left over."

In Mark chapter 8, we read a story about 4,000 people who had gathered to listen to Jesus. They were with Him for three days, but there was nothing left to eat, and it was nearly time for them to go home. Jesus knew that if they went away hungry that some of them would be, "...feeble through exhaustion and faint along the road..." (see verse 3). This wasn't at all what Jesus wanted to happen, so He asked the disciples how many loaves of bread they had. He gave thanks for them and broke them. The disciples also had a few small fish, and He did the same with those. With these few items of food, Jesus fed all the people to the point that they were satisfied, and there were seven provision baskets left of broken pieces when everyone had finished eating.

Whenever I read this story, God reveals to me how if we would just bring what we have and give it to Him, He could use what seems so small to make such a huge difference!!!

It's easy to think that what we have to give isn't enough, and in and of itself, it isn't... but when we ask God to be involved, He makes our cup overflow.

A smile can seem like such a small gesture, but that can be exactly what someone else needs to make it through a hard day.

A compliment can seem like a short statement, but that short statement can lift a person's spirits so much!

Doing a good job on homework may seem to go unnoticed, but God sees, and it isn't something that He ignores.

Apparently, God has really been dealing with me lately on the issue of seemingly small things having such tremendous purpose behind them when we allow God to have control and get involved in our lives.

God says, "So, the only way to reach people with your writing at this time is to blog... then blog, and watch what I can do with it." He says, "So, you're at a part time job... be faithful while I have you there and watch how I can make that job have so much purpose that you can't even believe it." And He says, "I understand that you don't feel like what you have to give will make much of a difference, but just give it to me and trust that I can cause it to make a huge difference."

God isn't concerned with how much we have. He is more interested in how much of what we have we are willing to give to Him to use.

Whatever you have today, I encourage you to not hold it back from God saying, "But God, it's such a small offering to give." Instead, give whatever you do have to God, and sit back to see all the wonderful things God uses that for!

Dear Heavenly Father,

You take the seemingly small things in this world to make a huge impact in the lives of people around us. For those 4,000 people, you used seven loaves of bread and a few small fish. They seemed so small and insignificant to the disciples that they asked, "...How can anyone fill and satisfy [these people] with loaves of bread here in [this] desolate and uninhabited region?" (verse 4). That wasn't Your attitude, though. What You said was, "Let me have the food, and just watch what I can do." Please take everything in my life, big or small, and use it to make a huge difference in Your Kingdom. In Jesus' Name.

Amen.