Comparison kills. It kills in our daily life as we compare what we have versus what others have. It kills in the thoughts that we are not pretty enough, smart enough, or good enough. It kills our spirit and crushes our hopes. And while we would hope that it would confine itself to the material world, it has a sneaky way of seeping over into our spiritual lives as well. We think thoughts like, “God definitely would rather use her than me.” Or “Look at how gifted she is in that; I could never be used like she can.” Or what about, “God really wouldn’t want to use someone like me because of my past. I’m sure He would want her because she didn’t sin like I did.” And so as we start comparing ourselves to those around us, we determine ourselves “not enough” for God to use.
In John 6, Jesus has been teaching to a large crowd of people and now He realizes that they are hungry.
“Jesus soon saw a huge crowd of people coming to look for him. Turning to Philip, he asked, ‘Where can we buy bread to feed all these people?’ He was testing Philip, for he already knew what he was going to do. Philip replied, ‘Even if we worked for months, we wouldn’t have enough money to feed them.’ Then Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up. ‘There’s a young boy here with five barley loaves and two fish. But what good is that with this huge crowd?’ ‘Tell everyone to sit down,’ Jesus said. So they all sat down on the grassy slopes (The men alone numbered about 5,000.) Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks to God, and distributed them to the people. Afterward he did the same with the fish. And they all ate as much as they wanted. After everyone was full, Jesus told his disciples, ‘Now gather the leftovers, so that nothing is wasted.’ So they picked up the pieces and filled twelve baskets with scraps left by the people who had eaten from the five barley loaves.” John 6:5-13
There was a situation. Jesus wanted to feed the people. The impossible was before them. It would take months to raise enough funds to possibly feed the crowd. All that was there was a boy with five loaves and two fishes. A boy. Someone who most likely wasn’t even counted in the crowd number as he wasn’t valued as important since he wasn’t a man yet. Not someone who people would have expected to be used for a miracle. And he definitely didn’t have enough. What he had was not enough. But God wants to bless our “not enough.”
God wants each of us to stop comparing ourselves to others in our spiritual lives and realize that He is big enough to use our “not enough.” We are greatly limiting God’s power when we think that our limitations are bigger than His power and ability. It is when we trust Him and offer Him what we have that He begins to work. Impossible is where God likes to start His process. There were only two things required of the boy: sacrifice and trust. He had to give up all that He had and trust that God could do the rest.
What do you have that God can use? Many times we sit around and think that because we don’t have everything, that we can do nothing. God loves to work in the “not enough” because that is where He gets the most honor and glory. Can we stop looking around at everyone else and what they have to offer and start allowing God to use our “five loaves and two fishes.” In the big scheme of things, none of us are “enough,” but with God, we are more than enough!
This devotional was written by Amy Carrico of Making the Moments Matter. Click HERE to follow her on Facebook!
Last Updated on November 18, 2024
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