Moving Beyond With What You HaveSample

DAY ONE: Use What You Have.

Often, we can easily recognize what it is that we don’t have or think we need. Whether it’s the latest in technology, a larger dollar amount in the bank, or a stronger character quality, we get stuck trying to reach for something else while overlooking what we already have. We say things like, “I don’t have what I need” or “That thing would make this better” or, like the widow in 2 Kings 4, we claim to have “nothing.”

Psalm 23 pushes back against that mentality, giving us the beautiful declaration of truth that with the Lord as our Shepherd, we actually lack nothing. The challenge we face, then, is to shift our lens from what we don’t have to what we do have. What’s interesting about the story of the widow who had “nothing” except a small jar of oil, is how the prophet Elisha saw what she had as enough and the “nothing” as full of potential. He told her to collect more jars, to create room for more oil, and then to pour out the oil. Miraculously, it multiplied and the oil kept flowing as long as she had the space to pour it into.

We see the same kind of multiplication in the gospels, where Jesus takes a few loaves of bread and some fish and feeds thousands till their full with leftovers. In Mark 8, when Jesus recognizes the crowd’s need for food, His disciples ask where they can possibly get more and Jesus responds by asking them what they already have. Again, Jesus sees what they have as enough and after He blessed it and broke it, He gave it away. Miraculously, it multiplied.

The same principles can be applied to our lives. The problem is never what we don’t have, it’s not seeing the potential of what we do have. See beyond what it looks like into what it could be. Sometimes the next step isn’t into something new; it’s pouring out what you already have. Don’t be surprised when you end up with an abundance.

Make a list of things you have, big and small, from your career and relationships to an internet connection and cleaning products. What are a few things you can do today with what you already have?