From an early age it was very apparent to me, my family wasn’t rich.  We weren’t the type of folks that could walk in a store and decide on a whim we would make a purchase based off our personal desires.  My Dad worked hard for years in the textile mill setting and then later in the harsh temperatures of a freezer filled with raw meats and poultry.  Though they didn’t have much, my parents were faithful with everything God blessed them with.  We bought what was needed and indulged in the [very] occasional splurge.  As a teen, I remember my overwhelming desire for a new car, brand-named clothing, and more.  Truthfully, I didn’t need it.  It was just a selfish desire.  It’s easy to be egomaniacal and want everything we see but, if we’re honest with ourselves, rarely do we come across anything that is an actual need outside of food and shelter.  I could have chosen in those moments to concentrate on what I didn’t have, but it wouldn’t accomplish anything.

1 Kings 17 finds Elijah in need of food and drink as the country he’s in is suffering from a long-term drought.  At one point, he moves from where he’d been to a new area.  He comes across a widow who he requests to bring him drink and bread.  She informs him that, when he found her, she was gathering sticks to build a fire to cook the last meal for she and her son before they died.  [Vs. 13-14] “And Elijah said to her, “Do not fear; go and do as you have said, but make me a small cake from it first, and bring it to me; and afterward make some for yourself and your son.  For thus says the Lord God of Israel: ‘The bin of flour shall not be used up, nor shall the jar of oil run dry, until the day the Lord sends rain on the earth.’”  She did as she was instructed and, the Bible informs us, she and her household ate for many days.  She could have continued her dialogue with Elijah and, in the kindest terms possible, informed him her family was more important and he would need to fend for himself.  Instead, her submission and simple act of faith towards the man of God led to long term [and daily] miracles for her and her family.  You may not have much but, I assure you, your meager offerings/abilities paired with the Father’s miracle working power are a formula for great and unexplainable successes.

Closing remarks and encouragement:  As we walk through our lives, we can decide to look at what we don’t have and convince ourselves we can’t accomplish a certain task for the kingdom because of our limitations.  Be reminded today, if God will’s it, the burden of accomplishing that particular task falls to His shoulders.  You are simply the vessel being used.  Your miracles aren’t necessarily found in what you don’t have or what you’ve lost.  The miracle can be found in what you have left.  What will you do with what you have left?

Have a blessed week, my friends!