Do you ever hold back? When someone needs something from you, do you give but only to a certain point? I mean after all, how much are we supposed to give of our time, money and talents to God and others, right?
We are all familiar with the story of how Jesus fed the 5,000+ people with two fish and five loaves of barley bread, but how many of us remember where the fish and loaves came from? You only learn the source in the account in the book of John. In John 6:9 you read, “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?” The disciples were so caught up in their dilemma of all the hungry people; they missed the act of sacrifice made by the young boy. Jesus didn’t miss it, I assure you. Once the boy’s lunch was placed in Jesus’ hands, it became lunch for over 5,000 hungry people.
In Mark 12:41-44 you find the story of the poor widow who comes into the temple to bring her offering to the Lord. She stands in line behind others waiting her turn. Those ahead of her drop large amounts into the offering box, but she deposits two small coins of little monetary value; however, Jesus says “I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others.” He declared her gift is worth more because she didn’t give out of her excess. She gave all she had. She withheld nothing from God.
Everything we have belongs to God. Not just our money, but all of our resources are His: our health, our time, our relationships, our family, our homes, and the list goes on. When He asks something of you, are you like the widow and the young boy? Do you give it all?
I have a friend who lives this concept out before me in a way that challenges me to do the same. She holds nothing back from God. I’ve seen her give away her money, her time, her jewelry, and I’ve even seen her offer the shirt off of her back literally. She understands she is blessed by God and all she has is His. He is simply allowing her to be the caretaker of what is His. The hardest thing to give to God was her children, but I witnessed her do that as well, as one struggled with a stronghold she couldn’t break so she surrendered him completely to the Lord and the Lord did a miracle in his life.
The beautiful thing about God is when we give all we have and all we are to Him, we gain so much more. The little boy who gave away his lunch had his fill to eat and was blessed by the opportunity to partner with God and witness a miracle first hand. I feel certain the widow never lacked what she needed. And my sweet friend, well the blessings continue to fall in her lap and she continues to hold onto them loosely, ready to give them when the Lord calls.
What are you holding back from the Lord? Ask Him to search your heart and reveal if there is anything you are keeping from Him? If so, surrender it to Him completely and keep your eyes open because you might just see a miracle.