What's in Your Hand?

Have you ever been driven by a dream or an idea and found yourself stalled saying, “If only I had this…..If only this were different….If only I had more money, then I could do what I want to do, then I could follow my dream?

I think people constantly overstate the importance of things they don’t have. Never let what you think you can’t do keep you from doing what you can do.

Case in point…Moses. After a lengthy discussion with God about how unqualified he was for the job and how limited he was in his resources, God takes an ordinary moment and an ordinary man and asks an extraordinary question, WHAT’S THAT IN YOUR HAND? The question had to seem completely irrelevant at the time after all Moses’ case was solid. No money, no confidence, no ability and no power. I’m sure with a slight chuckle he held out the only thing he had and said, probably with a little cynicism, “A staff.” And the rest is history.

It was from that moment forward that the scripture refers to the staff as ‘THE ROD OF GOD.' This staff was present for every major miracle that happened around the life of Moses and stands as a testament that with God the seemingly ordinary and common can be transformed into the extraordinary and uncommon.

Here's this week’s moment of truth. START WITH WHAT YOU HAVE, DON’T WAIT ON WHAT YOU DON’T HAVE. Don’t wait for special circumstances to act, use the ordinary situations God has given you now. One of the greatest revelations I’ve ever had in my life is the day I realized that I could row as far as I wanted to go with the oars I was given. Every big thing you see today was once just a small thing yesterday, but somebody, somewhere was willing to do something small in the hopes that greatness would one day emerge.

I love Zechariah 4:10, the Lord asks the prophet, For who has despised the day of small things?” Only small people see no value in small things.

I remember a conversation with a young man in Ohio I had years ago while I was there speaking at an Assembly church. He was sharing with me how God had called him to be a youth Pastor and how frustrated he was that no matter how many churches he applied to no one would give him a chance to serve. After listening to this young man complain about wasted time and no opportunities, the conversation went cold and quiet when I finally asked him one pivotal question. “How many kids have you mentored here?” “What do you mean?” he said. “I mean how many kids have you prayed for, encouraged and befriended in the last year here?” Silence. “Well, I’m not the youth Pastor.” I then shared with him that it doesn’t matter whether you have a position or title, people with pastor’s hearts pastor, just like writers write and builders build and singers sing.

This young man had fallen into the rut of so many who think that opportunities come only in one shape and size and only one color. The truth is they are big and small and blue and green and purple, opportunities are everywhere to the person with vision and a heart to serve, no matter how small the moment. What many people call the impossible is all too often simply the untried.

Do not let the enormity of what isn’t blind you from what is. It is possible to look so far ahead that you miss the wonderful things close by. Start with what you have and start moving today. Quit wasting time worrying and wishing for things you don’t have, when all you really need to begin is already in your hand.

Ecclesiastes 11:4 says, If you wait for perfect conditions, you will never begin. God never promised a perfect time, just ordinary time. No one is promised tomorrow but you do have today, and something small today can turn into something huge tomorrow. But not if you stall, wait and wish for things you may never have.

I love the German proverb that says, “If you’ll begin to weave, God will give you the thread.” It’s true. Why? Because beginning to weave requires faith and you know what faith does to God, it gets his attention and motivates him to action.

So what about it? Are you waiting for an opportunity, when opportunity is already present. Or do you turn your nose up at small things because you feel it’s a waste of time? What’s in your hand is all you need to make a stand.

Talk to me. Take a minute and leave a comment and tell me if these words ring true with you. Maybe share a brief story where God met you as you began, and let it be an encouragement to someone.

Thanks for participating.

God bless and I’ll catch you next week!

All for Christ,
J. Mark