Frugality was once considered a virtue in our country. Like the Amish in this picture, most people had learned the skill of doing the most with what they had on hand. Hand-me-downs were not seen as something to be ashamed of but were simply a part of that frugality. Within my grandmother’s possessions was a quilt that had been made from the scraps of clothing available at the time her grandmother and grandfather had moved to the panhandle of Texas in the late 1890s – another reminder of the mindset of Americans from a time long ago. If you ever wonder what it may have been like to live in nineteenth century America, just look at the various Amish communities across the nation – there you will find families still living as Americans did nearly a hundred and twenty years ago. One of the virtues that remain within the Amish community is the ability of doing the most with what is on hand.
Two scriptural examples of doing the most…
Within the Bible we see that God desires nothing more than to have those that love Him doing the most with what they have on hand. I think of the story of Moses as God was placing on him the task of leading His people out of bondage from Egypt. Moses response was one we often give the Lord: And Moses answered and said, But, behold, they will not believe me, nor hearken unto my voice: for they will say, The LORD hath not appeared unto thee. And the LORD said unto him, What is that in thine hand? And he said, A rod (Exodus 4:1-2). When God called upon Moses to do what He had planned, Moses’ first response was what so many of us do – “Lord, I just don’t have what it takes to do this…” When God asked Moses about what was in his hand, He asks us the same question – “what is it that you already have? Are you willing to surrender it and use it for my purpose and glory? Are you doing the most with what you have?”
During Jesus’ earthly ministry there is an example of people doing the most for Jesus with what they already had. There’s the story of the man who was possessed by thousands of devils that Jesus had cast into the herd of pigs. The man was willing to give up all he ever had and was to follow Jesus but Jesus had a different plan: Howbeit Jesus suffered him not, but saith unto him, Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee (Mark 5:19). The Bible bears testimony of what this man did: And he departed, and began to publish in Decapolis how great things Jesus had done for him: and all men did marvel (Mark 5:20). This man didn’t have to spend years in school learning, or spend time collecting props. All he simply had to do was to be obedient to God and be willing to use what he had available. For eternity, Christians will know that this man went back to his home town and began to tell everyone he encountered what the Lord had done for him! He was doing the most with what he had available.
God always calls us into action with what we have…
It took me a while to learn this important lesson but when God calls us to do something for Him, we already have the talents, abilities, or even the physical tools to do the tasks He sets before us. In the past I have written about using our gifts and talents within the local church to further God’s ministry in the area where you live. This really isn’t as much of the focus today as is that God will always call you into His service with what you already have. Just as frugality is a virtue in our eyes, it is also a virtue to the Lord. Too many Christians become disillusioned, sidetracked, and discouraged because they want to do a great work for the Lord yet do not have the ability to do it. This happens when we listen to our emotions/heart and not to the Lord. I will be honest with you, even I have had this problem and it wasn’t until I seriously did some praying and Bible study that I began to understand that the Lord never calls us to do anything that is beyond our ability. If we think of Naaman, the great Syrian general who had leprosy, sought out Elisha to heal him of the dreaded disease. And Elisha sent a messenger unto him, saying, Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean (2 Kings 5:10). Naaman was not told to go do some great military feat of strength or great strategic thinking. He was told to go and bathe – seven times – in the Jordan River and he would be clean. What Naaman had to learn, the lesson that I needed to learn, is that when God gives us something to do there’s a tendency to question it because serving the Lord and being obedient is certainly not that simple.
A few years ago, I was sitting in church thinking, during the invitation, about the number of older people we have that simply could not attend church because of health and transportation issues. As the Lord began to deal with me on this issue, it dawned on me – I had a digital video camera and I would simply film the AM worship service. Out of that grew our church’s video ministry that includes DVDS of the AM service mailed monthly and a YouTube page for our church. My willingness to use what I already had on hand and my talents allowed the Lord to place a burden on my heart that I had the ability to fulfill. I’m not trying to pat myself on the back but just sharing that if you’re willing to allow the Lord to have complete lordship over your life and the things you own, He will call you to a work that only you can do. You’ll be amazed at how rewarding it can be when we know the Lord is using our abilities to further His church and His kingdom!
It doesn’t matter what role the Lord has called you to fill nor does it matter what anyone else thinks. God has called you for a purpose and you already have what you need to accomplish His goals. Has God called you to be a missionary to a far-away land? If He has, then He has given you ability to learn a new language or maybe you already speak the language needed. Has God called you into the music ministry or led you to teach Sunday School? You already have all you need to fulfill God’s purpose. Maybe you’ve recently discovered you have an interest in learning to play the piano, the guitar, to learn how to write poetry, or maybe you want to learn to sew – maybe it is because once you have learned those skills, they will become the tools you need to do things the Lord has for you to do. The most important thing that a Christian can learn is to seek God’s will, be willing use what you have for His glory, and to simply trust His guidance.
NOTE: As a side note, compared to the newer videos, the older ones are really rough. As we have demonstrated our faithfulness in the video ministry, the Lord has given us newer equipment and better video editing software. The first anchored video is at least a year, maybe two years old! I am excited to see what the Lord will do as we remain faithful in our service in this ministry.
