Little is How Much?

Lisa Cooke

I can’t seem to let go of the idea that God gets great pleasure out of taking nothing or very little, and doing great things with it.  From the beginning we see Him creating something from nothing. He formed man out of dirt and yet the Bible says we are fearfully and wonderfully made.  Something happens when God breathes on dirt. Something happens when Jesus asks His Father to bless a few fish and some loaves of bread.  The lowest denominations of currency become noteworthy worship and our lives make a difference when we offer them as a living sacrifice.

I’m embarrassed when I think of how many times I’m like the man who buried the coin his master gave him to invest for him.  God breathed me into being, and I bury myself out of fear. What am I fearing?  That God expects me to make His will happen? That it would be my breath that creates?  Since when was the dirt responsible for the miracles?

So, if I read my Bible right, I’ll see that there’s a mindset I need to develop.  What do I have that God can breathe on?  What can I ask Him to bless to help others?  What do I have in my hand, my pocket, my lunch box?   Nothing is without significance when God sets His eye on it.

It’s the famous and often preached loaves and fishes story that I’ve been thinking about the most as I try to wrap my mind around the concept that “little is much when God is in it.” [1] The little boy didn’t bring magic bread and fish to the meeting that day.  He also didn’t try to carry enough to supply a buffet line for thousands.  Jesus made the point to people listening to Him that His yoke was easy and His burden was light.  I really think He likes working with what we can carry—the common, the daily, the earthly.  That way, the glory goes to the One who does the multiplication.

So my part is to give Him something to work with, something to breathe on, the things He gave me to invest for Him.  My mistake is to think that what I have isn’t good enough for Him.  How often do we make ourselves the judge of what God can and can’t use?  Are we guilty of exalting our opinion above the judgments of God?  My prayer is that His breath and His blessing will change whatever I bring Him into what He can use to get His love across to the world.  We know our faith pleases God, so why not believe Him to make much out of what seems (to us) like so little?

We may have to be brave when we realize that God’s ways are going to look different than we expected.  We may not get to be wonderful in the world’s eyes, our accomplishments may never be noted in history books, and our own egos may suffer at the realization that we aren’t God.  But, oh the freedom of an easy yoke and light burden.  The fun we’ll have watching God make something out of nothing. The joy we’ll experience being lights all over the world “shining brighter and brighter until the full day.”  And don’t forget the satisfaction of hearing God say “Well done good and faithful servant.  You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your Master.”

[1] This is also the name of a song written in 1924 by Kittie Suffield.