October 17th, 2022
Written by Tabitha White
I grew up in a family that loved music! Most of my early memories involve some type of music. Whether it was a hymn from a red-back hymnal on a Sunday morning, a Southern rock anthem, the latest contemporary Christian hit, or bluegrass being played on mandolins and banjos at a family reunion, there was always some sort of music in my day. I remember hearing my mom and dad harmonize on the way to church and thinking it was the most magical sound in the world! Even now, those songs drop into my mind at the most random times!
Last Monday, Will Whaley and I spent the day following Pastor Jason and my husband, Jason, as they completed the BGMC Bike Ride for Colombia. Throughout the day on Monday, they rode their bicycles over 54 miles from the Chief Ladiga Trail to VRC. These weren’t easy miles at all! There were huge hills and steep inclines that there’s no way that I could have biked! However, they took each hill in stride and kept on going! Will and I alternated between silently praying for them and cheering them on to keep on pedaling.
As they were going up one of the biggest hills, the lyrics of one of those old songs dropped into my heart.
What's that you have in your hand
I can use it, if you're willing to lose it
The lyrics came from a song by the Christian group, Truth, and I hadn’t heard the song in years. The song continues and says, “Take the little you have and make it grand! I am El Shaddai, and I'll more than supply your need!”
As I prayed for endurance for the guys and thought about the lyrics to the song, I started thinking about how God can use any aspect of our lives, if we are only willing to surrender it to Him. Pastor Jason, Will, and Jason set out on a bike ride, but God used their willingness to sacrifice time and energy to raise money and awareness for missions. It makes me think of one of my favorite miracles of Jesus!
In John 6:1-13, we read the familiar story of Jesus feeding the multitudes. Imagine being in that crowd. You’ve been listening to Jesus preach, and you’ve seen Him healing the sick…but now you are getting hungry. You hear Jesus ask the disciples, “Where will we buy bread so that these people can eat?” Then, you start looking around too! Who will provide your next meal? It’s been a long day, and it’s not like there is a McDonald’s right down the street.
Suddenly, a little boy comes out of the crowd offering up his own lunch. His simple lunch includes five barley loaves and two fish. In comparison to a crowd of 5,000, this humble lunch will not even give everyone a small morsel. However, in Jesus’ hands, everyone eats their fill with twelve baskets left over! Jesus took this little boy’s simple lunch and turned it into a feast!
If He can use five fish and two loaves of bread, how much more can He use a life that is fully surrendered to Him? It takes me back to the lyrics of the song, “What’s that you have in your hand?”
What are you holding onto that could be used to bring glory to God? It could be as simple as pedaling a bike for missions or spending an afternoon with an aging relative to let them know how much Jesus loves them!
Peter encourages us in 1 Peter 4:10-11, “Just as each one has received a gift, use it to serve others, as good stewards of the varied grace of God. If anyone speaks, let it be as one who speaks God’s words; if anyone serves, let it be from the strength God provides.”
Each one of us has been given a gift that God is ready to use to show His grace and His love to those that He places in our paths. What good is your gift doing if we act like the servant in Matthew 25 that buried what his master had given him? What God has placed in you is there for a reason! I want to challenge you this week to ask God to reveal to you what He has put in your hand that He’s waiting for you to release…and when He reveals it to you, like I know He will, fully surrender it to Him!
So, let me ask you one last time, “What’s that you have in your hand?”
I grew up in a family that loved music! Most of my early memories involve some type of music. Whether it was a hymn from a red-back hymnal on a Sunday morning, a Southern rock anthem, the latest contemporary Christian hit, or bluegrass being played on mandolins and banjos at a family reunion, there was always some sort of music in my day. I remember hearing my mom and dad harmonize on the way to church and thinking it was the most magical sound in the world! Even now, those songs drop into my mind at the most random times!
Last Monday, Will Whaley and I spent the day following Pastor Jason and my husband, Jason, as they completed the BGMC Bike Ride for Colombia. Throughout the day on Monday, they rode their bicycles over 54 miles from the Chief Ladiga Trail to VRC. These weren’t easy miles at all! There were huge hills and steep inclines that there’s no way that I could have biked! However, they took each hill in stride and kept on going! Will and I alternated between silently praying for them and cheering them on to keep on pedaling.
As they were going up one of the biggest hills, the lyrics of one of those old songs dropped into my heart.
What's that you have in your hand
I can use it, if you're willing to lose it
The lyrics came from a song by the Christian group, Truth, and I hadn’t heard the song in years. The song continues and says, “Take the little you have and make it grand! I am El Shaddai, and I'll more than supply your need!”
As I prayed for endurance for the guys and thought about the lyrics to the song, I started thinking about how God can use any aspect of our lives, if we are only willing to surrender it to Him. Pastor Jason, Will, and Jason set out on a bike ride, but God used their willingness to sacrifice time and energy to raise money and awareness for missions. It makes me think of one of my favorite miracles of Jesus!
In John 6:1-13, we read the familiar story of Jesus feeding the multitudes. Imagine being in that crowd. You’ve been listening to Jesus preach, and you’ve seen Him healing the sick…but now you are getting hungry. You hear Jesus ask the disciples, “Where will we buy bread so that these people can eat?” Then, you start looking around too! Who will provide your next meal? It’s been a long day, and it’s not like there is a McDonald’s right down the street.
Suddenly, a little boy comes out of the crowd offering up his own lunch. His simple lunch includes five barley loaves and two fish. In comparison to a crowd of 5,000, this humble lunch will not even give everyone a small morsel. However, in Jesus’ hands, everyone eats their fill with twelve baskets left over! Jesus took this little boy’s simple lunch and turned it into a feast!
If He can use five fish and two loaves of bread, how much more can He use a life that is fully surrendered to Him? It takes me back to the lyrics of the song, “What’s that you have in your hand?”
What are you holding onto that could be used to bring glory to God? It could be as simple as pedaling a bike for missions or spending an afternoon with an aging relative to let them know how much Jesus loves them!
Peter encourages us in 1 Peter 4:10-11, “Just as each one has received a gift, use it to serve others, as good stewards of the varied grace of God. If anyone speaks, let it be as one who speaks God’s words; if anyone serves, let it be from the strength God provides.”
Each one of us has been given a gift that God is ready to use to show His grace and His love to those that He places in our paths. What good is your gift doing if we act like the servant in Matthew 25 that buried what his master had given him? What God has placed in you is there for a reason! I want to challenge you this week to ask God to reveal to you what He has put in your hand that He’s waiting for you to release…and when He reveals it to you, like I know He will, fully surrender it to Him!
So, let me ask you one last time, “What’s that you have in your hand?”
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