In the Hands of God

"Be a part of something that can only be explained by the hand of God" ~ David Platt

Not enough.  Haven’t we all felt this?  I don’t have enough knowledge to contribute.  I don’t have enough resources to make a difference.  I don’t have enough talent to accomplish anything meaningful.  I don’t have enough money, time, power, connections.  I am not enough.  In our world of ladder climbing, social media highlight reels and high expectations to achieve and accomplish, I think it’s so easy to feel worthless, unusable and devalued.  But what if instead of giving up, feeling sorry for ourselves or working even harder to try to measure up, we put what we do have, even if it seems minuscule, into the hands of Jesus?  What could He potentially do with our not enough?

After God used Moses to release the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, He gives instructions for how to build the tabernacle in the wilderness so He could dwell with His people.  The instructions are detailed and require many talents, resources and skills from a lot of people to carry them out.  In the midst of all these instructions and lists of materials that need to be gathered, there is a short verse that could easily be passed over, but it gives us an example of how something seemingly small and insignificant can be used in a mighty way when placed in the hands of God.  Exodus 38:8 says, “He made the basin of bronze and its stand of bronze, from the mirrors of the ministering women who ministered in the tent of meeting.”  Moses was asking for all kinds of materials from the newly freed Israelites, things like gold and silver, fine twined linen, different colored yarns, acacia wood and other valuable materials that would be used to build the tables and lamp stands and the altars and the veils and the Ark of the Covenant.  In the midst of all the fine materials and valuable metals carefully carried out from Egypt, a group of faithful women brought their bronze mirrors in an effort to help the priests at the sanctuary.  I imagine they may have questioned themselves as they saw pure gold jewelry and fine yarns spun from goat hair being delivered to the site of the tabernacle, maybe they wondered if what they had to contribute would be good enough.  Nevertheless, they took the thing that they once used to look at themselves and gave it to be used in service to the Lord.  The bronze mirrors were melted down to create a basin that was filled with water at the entrance of the tent so the priests could clean themselves after making a sacrifice.  When the women put what they had in the hands of God, He used it in a significant and meaningful way for His glory and the good of His people.

A few hundred years later Israel is in a drought during the dark days of King Ahab due to their idol-worshiping tendencies.  The Lord told Elijah, a prophet, to go to a widow in the town of Zarephath, the heart of Baal worship, and ask her for a meal and a drink.  After hearing this request, the widow tells Elijah that she only has a little bit of flour and a little bit of oil and that she was planning to use it to make one last meal for her and her son before they die (presumedly from starvation).  Elijah asks her to take a step of faith and put her not enough into the hands of a mighty God.  She did what Elijah asked of her and the Lord provided flour and oil for her family in jars that never became empty, a miracle that resulted from her obedience to give what she could.  In the hands of God, her not enough became plenty.

Centuries later Jesus shows up and performs a miracle to feed a hungry crowd of people.  His Earthly ministry is underway and He has a crowd following Him, hoping to see one of the miracles they have heard about.  He asked his disciples, Phillip and Andrew, what they should do to feed all those people (possibly 15,000-20,000 men, women and children).  The disciples only see an impossible situation, but Andrew, I imagine hesitantly, mentions a boy in the crowd with five barley loaves and two fishes, likely a lunch his mother packed for him.  The boy willingly puts everything in his hands into the hands of Jesus and watches as He takes his little bit and multiplies it not just to feed the entire crowd until they were satisfied, but to have twelve baskets full of leftovers.  Jesus doesn’t just provide for the crowd, He provides abundantly.  He took not enough and made it more than enough.

These are just a few examples in Scripture, there are so many more and if you listen to believers you will hear testimony after testimony of God’s provision.  If God can create something beautiful and holy from tools of vanity, abundant provisions from scraps and a meal for a crowd from a boy’s lunch, can we not trust Him with what we have to offer, even if it doesn’t seem like much?  I have felt like the women in the wilderness, the widow from Zarephath and the boy in the crowd many times over the past four years as we’ve said “yes” to God’s invitation into this ministry.  I have no background in non-profit work, missions, medical care or business.  I often struggle with thoughts of not having enough talent to lead this organization, not having enough knowledge to grow our mission, not having enough skill to share the opportunity we are offering others to be a part of.  I find myself asking, “Do I have what it takes?  Am I enough?”  The answer is no. I don’t have what it takes to be a part of the global vision we have for The Will King Foundation.  I don’t have the training or resources or connections to accomplish anything world-changing or profoundly impactful.  But what if, what if, I put the little I do have, the not enough time, not enough money, not enough resources, not enough knowledge, not enough followers, not enough skill set into the hands of a mighty, miracle-working, promising-keeping God?  I am not enough and not matter how hard I work or how much I learn or what I accomplish, I never will be.  Instead of trying or wishing or hoping to become enough on my own, what if I offer the little bit I have in my hands into the hands of the God who made wine from dirty water, parted seas, brought down fire from Heaven, crumbled city walls, opened barren wombs, healed blind and paralyzed men and raises dry bones to life?  We may not have a lot of offer, we may feel inadequate and unable but if we can trust Him with our not enough, He can make it more than enough - not for our satisfaction, not for our power or fame or gratification, but for His glory.  His is always the same, He has always been faithful and He has always been good.  He is still the same, all powerful God that did all those miracles we read about in Scripture, hear about from other believers and maybe have even experienced ourselves. He’s not going to change.  What miracle might be lying on the other side of our obedience with a little?  What blessing might come from our tiny offering?  How might He use us for His glory if we put a small, simple faith into His mighty hands?