Is what you desperately need already in your hand and you don’t realize it?
I can’t begin to count the number of times someone has told me they can’t accomplish an objective because they don’t have (fill in the blank). The excuses are often some variation of:
- “I don’t have enough funding.”
- “I don’t have enough people.”
- “I don’t have enough time.”
I’m not surprised by these excuses. I know I’ve used each of them myself at some stage in my career.
When we confronted with an enormous obstacle we can’t see our way around; we often give up mentally never realizing we already have everything we need.
This is not a new phenomenon. Moses was confronted with an enormous obstacle and didn’t realize all he needed was already in his hand.
Moses, What’s in Your Hand?
God called Moses to lead the Israelites out of Egypt (Exodus 3). Moses offered up excuse after excuse to God why selecting him was a bad choice. God reassured Moses saying, “I will be with you.”
As Moses continued to make excuses, God said to Moses, “What is that in your hand?” “A staff,” replied Moses. God used this simple shepherd’s staff to perform miracles before the Egyptians and the Israelites. This ultimately led to the Israelite’s deliverance from the Egyptians.
Moses wasn’t the only example of a “what’s in your hand” miracle. Jesus performed a similar miracle in the feeding of the 5,000.
Jesus asked, “What do You Have?”
At the end of a long day, a crowd of some 5,000 men (probably 15,000 or more including women and children) surrounded Jesus and the disciples. The disciples expressed concern that the people did not have anything to eat, so they suggested Jesus send them away. Instead, Jesus told the disciples, “You give them something to eat” (Matthew 14:13-21, Mark 6:30-44, Luke 9:10-17, John 6:1-15).
The disciples started with their excuses:
- “This is a remote place.”
- “We don’t have enough food to feed them all.”
- “It would take a year’s wages to buy them all food.”
Jesus asked them, “What do you have?” The disciples said, “We have only five loaves of bread and two small fish.”
Then Jesus took the bread and the fish and looking up to heaven He gave thanks. He directed the disciples to distribute the bread and fish to everyone. When they finished, they picked up 12 baskets full of leftovers, one for each disciple!
Jesus’ lesson for the disciples was that you could trust that whatever you have if you place it in God’s hands, it will be enough. In fact, it will be MORE than enough!
What is in Our Hand?
Moses learned that even the simple shepherd’s staff in his hand was mighty when submitted to the Lord.
Jesus demonstrated to the disciples how God would bless and multiply what they had not just to meet their needs but to exceed their needs.
The key for Moses was to surrender his will and submit to God’s calling. The key for the disciples was to place their trust and faith in God to meet their every need.
Leaders, the next time you face with what seems like an insurmountable obstacle look to see what is in your hand. Remember to submit and surrender to God’s will while trusting in faith that He can and will meet all your needs.
As Paul said, “And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19).
Join the Conversation
As always, questions and comments are welcome. Have there been times in your life where you resisted God’s call on your life, or offered excuses to God, only to experience God’s miraculous provision?
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Category: Personal Development | Dependence on God
Most of the time the tools we need are available to us. For me it’s usually a drawing pen or paintbrush!
John,
I imagine any number of problems pass away and solutions are at the tip of your pen or brush!
This post is very true! Everyone makes excuses all the time and excuses only hinder people from achieving their goal. This post was a great reminder that God will provide regardless if someone “doesn’t have enough time, money, or resources”. God surprises people in many ways. This is important to keep in mind in my future after graduating college. The next couple years will be a big transition and most people struggle with “not having enough of…” God provides and will be with us wherever we go!
Kaki,
Your observation is right on – people make excuses all the times and excuses are the greatest barrier to achieving goals large and small. Very important to remember as you work with and lead others.
I really like the example of Moses you use. He was always one of my favorite biblical characters because he had his flaws and his problems, but he was able to overcome those obstacles and save an entire people group. There are always going to be excuses that you can make in order to get out of things, but if you can put your trust in God there is no limit to what you can do.
Ben,
Moses ends up in a number of my sermons/talks/posts for exactly the reason you mentioned. Moses makes excuses several times but ends up doing what God has called him to do.
I can think of multiple times that I tried to excuse myself from doing something simply because I believed I didn’t have enough resources or experience to do it, especially if it was something new. It was an excellent reminder to hear that God has already given us enough to succeed because that is so true! God gives us endless opportunities for success – there is no limit with Him by your side and He offers endless support during our trials and errors. As Christians, I believe that we need to do a better job of recognizing that we have been blessed with more than enough and it is our job to trust God completely so that we can have the confidence and courage to pursue greater things.
Kelsey,
Great point – I think the times I have been most likely to think I didn’t have the needed resources was when attempting something new!