Slideshow image

You have enough.  That isn’t something we hear very often, is it? In a world that promises happiness in that next purchase, next experience, next degree, next relationship, or next accomplishment we have become debilitated by the idea that what we have is not enough. We operate under the weight of this vicious lie that if we keep striving, improving, reaching, acquiring, we will eventually have enough. 

Enough for what?  I think on a secular level, enough is often equated with contentment.  However, as Christians, our goal in having enough is to be effectively used by God.  Unfortunately, this faulty thinking that we are constantly lacking hinders what God can do through us. We fall prey to thoughts like:

  • If I had more biblical knowledge, then I could teach a Bible study.
  • If I had more time, then I could volunteer.
  • If I had more confidence, then I could pray for people.
  • If I had more resources, then I could help lead a ministry.
  • If I had better communication skills, then I could share my testimony publicly.
  • If I had more training, then I could mentor students.
  • If I had more money, then I could give to that organization.

Rather than moving forward with what we do have to serve God and impact this world for good, we wait until we think we have enough, which means we will be waiting the rest of our lives.

You may be asking how I can confidently declare that YOU have enough when I don’t even know what you have. The answer is simple: God makes it enough.  It doesn’t matter what you actually have because we serve a God who multiplies! 

The Bible is filled with stories of faithful followers surrendering what they had so that God could multiply it for His glory:

  • Jesus used a little boy’s lunch to feed over 5,000 people in Matthew 14.
  • In 2 Kings 4 God multiplied a widow’s small amount of olive oil so that she could keep her family together.
  • In 1 Kings 17 God multiplied the widow’s flour and oil so she and her son could survive until the drought ended.
  • God told Gideon in Judges 6 to “go in the strength that you have” to defeat the Midianite army.

None of these individuals appeared to have enough so they had to make a decision.  They could rely on their own finite thinking and render the situation impossible. Or they could choose to surrender what they had and watch a miracle unfold. And guess what friends? This is true for us as well! When our surrendered abilities, talents, or possessions intersect with God’s power, miracles happen.

Several years ago, I was preparing a message on this very idea of surrendering what we have so that God can multiply it for His glory.  The day I planned to share the message, my son (who was four years old at the time) asked a question that challenged me to a new way of thinking. I want to encourage you to consider my son’s perspective as well.  We were talking through the story of Jesus feeding the 5,000, and he seemed to struggle with the part where the disciples wanted to send the crowd away because they did not have enough food to feed them.  He asked, “Mom, did the disciples not know that Jesus was powerful? Is that why they thought what they had was not enough?” 

I wonder if that question will challenge you as it did me: “Do I not know that Jesus is powerful?  Is that why I think what I have is not enough?”

Let me remind you today that JESUS IS POWERFUL so therefore, YOU HAVE ENOUGH.

I don’t know to what God is calling each of you.  I don’t know what you have that He’s asking you to surrender.  But I DO know that you have the same decision to make as those individuals in the Bible. Will you submit to the idea that what you have is not enough and risk missing the miracle? Or will you choose to surrender what you have and allow God to work a miracle in and through you for His glory?

Let’s Pray: Dear Heavenly Father, thank you that you are a God who multiplies. Help us surrender what we have to you and trust that it is enough.  We pray that you would be honored and glorified. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

For Further Study: 2 Peter 1:3 “His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.” 

Heather Baer

Heather Baer lives in Greencastle with her husband and two children. She graduated with a Christian Ministries degree from Messiah College and later received her teaching certificate through Wilson College. She taught kindergarten in the public school system, was a staff pastor for the children’s ministry at a local church and is currently a stay-at-home mom. She loves running, coffee, and opportunities to teach children that they are created by God, loved by Jesus, and have a unique purpose in this life.  

Comments for this post are now off.