Twice in the Bible, the Lord asks this question phrased differently. First to Moses then to his disciples. He was committing the salvation of His people into Moses’s hands and Moses was wrestling with the command.
The Lord asked him, “What is that in your hand?” “A staff,” he replied.
“Throw it to the ground,” he said. So Moses threw it to the ground, it became a snake, and he ran from it.- Exodus 4: 2-4
The Lord went on to turn Moses’s hand leprous and heal it back, then asked him to fetch water from the Nile which He turned to blood.
All this was to reassure Moses that He was with Him and would do great wonders through him that all would believe.
God used things that were easily accessible to Moses to show His power. The things that Moses used daily, things he considered unworthy of God's attention. Apart from the staff which was an essential part of his occupation as a shepherd, Moses didn’t buy or make any of the other things.
1. Moses’ staff – a personal belonging
2. Moses’ hand – a part of his body
3. Water from the Nile – a natural resource
This shows the transcendence of God and how He doesn’t necessarily need a fat bank account or any grand mechanism to do great work.
Take a look at Jesus Himself, all that He had was His voice and a tangible anointing on His life to cause such an impact in the world. Whatever He needed God provided it whenever it was necessary.
When the little boy gave up his loaves, he did not know what God had in store. He was unaware of the power capable of turning his little gift into food that would feed thousands.
"How many loves do you have?" he asked
Seven they said. - Mark 8: 5
Yet it is still easy for us to come up with all kinds of excuses. About how little we have, how bad the quality of what we have is and how we lack the necessary connections or skills needed to make it work.
We forget that we serve the one who is capable of multiplying and leaving a surplus.
In our devotional lives, for instance, there comes a time when we imagine ourselves doing more in prayer or Bible study, spending hours upon hours waiting upon the Lord. We can get so engrossed in our "fantasies" that we forget the power of giving Him our "little" in the season that we are in. Can you give God 30 minutes, can you give Him an hour or two for starters? Then do so, and as He gives grace your capacity will be enlarged to do more.
If you have been given an assignment, go ahead and start with your little. It was the servant who used his talent that got more added to him not the one who buried it. The crowds might not be thronging towards your product or business, the finances might not be flowing but God's pleasure at your faithfulness to His command is reward enough. As a repenting procrastinator myself I know how it feels like to keep postponing the things God has told you because the conditions aren’t “right”. Many times it is only a symptom of the fear of failure because if all the conditions you list out were fulfilled, you might still invent another excuse.
I do believe however that there are valid reasons that can stall/pause a work God has made you a steward of. The caution is that we must make sure these limitations are not ones we have created for ourselves.
If God has adequately prepared and anointed you for a service and has given you the green light to go ahead, please do it. The conditions might never be right but trust the God who makes the path of the just to shine brighter and brighter unto a perfect day. You will not have everything figured out in the beginning but launch out anyway. The harvest is indeed ripe yet the labourers are few. The world is in dire need of the solutions God has given you.
Open your hands and let Him grace the little you have. Give Him your five loaves and two fish. It may be on Mount Sinai just between you and Him like Moses or on Mount Olives in the midst of others like Jesus ascending to heaven, just give it anyway.
GOD'S WORK DONE GOD'S WAY WILL NEVER LACK GOD'S RESOURCES - HUDSON TAYLOR
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