The Importance of Being There
I have much to write to you, but I do not want to use paper and ink. Instead, I hope to visit you and talk with you face to face, so that our joy may be complete.—2 John 1:12 (NIV)
Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.—ACTS 3:6 KJV
Our modern materialism often skews our spiritual thinking. When called upon to do a task, we often think we need to have all the money, equipment, and personnel we’ll need in the end before we begin.
This is not God’s methodology. God operates through us with “such as we have.”
Peter and John didn’t have money—but they did have the healing power of Jesus, which they offered in faith to the crippled man.
The little boy didn’t have enough lunch to feed a multitude. But when he gave such as he had to Jesus, it multiplied.
The widow of Zarephath had only enough grain and oil for one meal, but she gave such as she had to Elijah, and she survived the famine.
When God gives us a job to do, He doesn’t require our resources. He has everything He needs to accomplish His will. As Hudson Taylor said, “God’s work done in God’s way will never lack God’s supply.”
All God needs is such as we have—a willing heart and a willing body. He can—and will—take care of the rest.
Father, You have given me this task of caring for others, and it seems too big for me. I don’t have all the things I need to do the job. Yet I know that You do. Father, I am willing to serve. Work through me as You desire.
I have much to write to you, but I do not want to use paper and ink. Instead, I hope to visit you and talk with you face to face, so that our joy may be complete.—2 John 1:12 (NIV)
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.—2 Corinthians 1:3–4 (NIV)
The one who gets wisdom loves life; the one who cherishes understanding will soon prosper.—Proverbs 19:8 (NIV)