In This Issue:
Little Can Be Much
Little Is Much When God Is In It
“I’ve Got All I Want”
Just Enough
Looking for a Way Out
Wealth May Not Give Happiness
Volume: 910 June 5, 2023
Theme: God’s Provision
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Little Can Be Much
Bill Brinkworth
Somehow, many Christians have gotten it into their heads that if God blesses someone, there will be prosperity and ease. Perhaps some of that thinking was drummed into them through the “prosperity Gospel” crowd, who teach that God wants you to be rich and gives one an easy life if they are right with Him. Maybe our natural thinking makes us believe that any problems we have can only mean that we are not right with God and His hand is against us. That teaching is not evidenced in the Bible often, however.
There were times when God gave peace and prosperity to some at certain times. The majority of the time, God’s evidence of power is more evident during “bad” and troubled times. Those times can get one closer to Him and allow one to see God’s mightiness.
Often, God works with a little, rather than much, to accomplish His goals. Yet, when all was finished, there was no question that God had done a great thing with just a little. His miracles are sometimes performed with irrational objects, resulting in the most illogical solutions. Some of these supernatural occurrences were:
- The earth was created in six days by God only, not over millions of years, and not by many “accidents” or a “big bang.”
Being created by one God is not how a “natural” man would understand. A lot was accomplished with just a little of God’s time. - The people were scattered at the tower of Babel, not by disease or enemy, but by a “little” confusion of languages. From that small instance, people were scattered, and civilization spread all over the globe.
- Moses and God’s people had a way of escaping from the encroaching enemy when Moses stretched his rod over the sea. They watched as God took an “impossible” method to open the Red Sea for them to cross to safety.
- The walls of a protected enemy were knocked down by a simple shout at Jericho, not ramming machines nor by a vast army. A big victory was accomplished by an incident that would hardly be expected to knock those mighty double walls outward.
- Naaman’s leprosy was cured by simply dipping in the Jordan River seven times, not by some doctor’s cure or super drug. A little obedience healed the man in a big way.
- Gideon was vastly outnumbered but won a battle with only 300 men, lamps, pitchers, and shouts.
- Under-sized David slew his adversary with a small, smooth stone propelled from his unthreatening sling.
- Tiny God-controlled hornets chased vast enemies.
- Five small barley loaves and two fishes fed over 5,000 people.
- A blind man’s sight was restored not by surgery or some miracle cure but by a little spittle and clay.
- Man’s Sins can be forgiven simply by Jesus’ paying for them 2,000 years ago by His shed blood on Calvary’s cross, not by our good works or our payment for them. The death of one “man,” Christ, became the most important action in man’s history.
Anyone can get by with the help of millions of dollars; there is not much of a miracle in that. There is not always proof that God is in the solution when money buys the way out of the problem. When there is plenty in the checkbook, just about anybody can change any situation. Solving situations with plenty is not necessarily God’s fingerprint on the solution.
When God is involved in a situation, He must get the glory. He will get the credit when a “little” does the impossible. Nothing is impossible when God is in the matter. God’s involvement is often evident when a little goes a long way and does extraordinary and wondrous things. Little is much when God is in it because God can do anything He desires with anything!
“When you’re down to nothing, God may be up to something.”
Little Is Much When God Is In It
Hymn by Kittie Suffield
In the harvest field now ripened
There’s a work for all to do;
Hark! the voice of God is calling,
To the harvest calling you.
Refrain:
Little is much when God is in it!
Labor not for wealth or fame;
There’s a crown, and you can win it,
If you go in Jesus’ name.
In the mad rush of the broad way,
In the hurry and the strife,
Tell of Jesus’ love and mercy,
Give to them the Word of Life.
Refrain:
Does the place you’re called to labor
Seem so small and little known?
It is great if God is in it,
And He’ll not forget His own.
Refrain:
Are you laid aside from service,
Body worn from toil and care?
You can still be in the battle,
In the sacred place of prayer.
Refrain:
When the conflict here is ended
And our race on Earth is run,
He will say, if we are faithful,
“Welcome home, My child—well done!”
Refrain:
“I’ve Got All I Want”
Oliver B. Greene
After a Sunday school lesson one week, a little girl was heard misquoting Psalm 23:1, a familiar Bible verse that many children have memorized. Although the child did not quote it quite right, she had the right idea when she said, “The Lord is my shepherd; I’ve got all I want.”
The truth we adults often fail to remember is that God does provide all our needs, and we should be content with His provision.
“Consider the ravens: for they neither sow nor reap; which neither have storehouse nor barn; and God feedeth them: how much more are ye better than the fowls?” Luke 12:24
Just Enough
Edited from an Article by Robert G. Lee
God miraculously dealt with the people of Israel during their wilderness wandering. God said, “And I have led you forty years in the wilderness: your clothes are not waxen old upon you, and thy shoe is not waxen old upon thy foot. 6 Ye have not eaten bread, neither have ye drunk wine or strong drink: that ye might know that I am the LORD your God.” Deut. 29:5-6
The Israelites’ clothes did not wear out for forty years, and they received a daily ration of manna rained down on them from Heaven. The manna was “… like coriander seed, white; and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey.” Exodus 13:31 God faithfully provided for them daily.
They received enough manna daily for every man, woman, and child to eat. If they tried to save some for the next day, it would be covered by worms and stank. God’s reason was not because of the shortage of supplies. It was so they would obey Him and trust Him to provide.
“Then said the LORD unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or no.” Exodus 16:4
God wanted to know whether Israel would trust Him for their daily provisions. Though it took the equivalent of one hundred and eighty freight car loads of manna each day to feed these three million Israelites and ninety-four tank cars of water per day, God did not let them lack at any time.
If we trust and obey what God has told us in His Word, He will provide for us. He will meet your needs.
“When a train goes through a dark tunnel, you don’t throw away the ticket and jump off. You sit still and trust the engineer to get you through safely. Trust God today, no matter how dark your situation. God says, ‘You are
coming out!’”
Looking for a Way Out
Oliver B. Greene
At a cross-country steeplechase exhibition, one horse suddenly shied away from a hurdle and ran into a barbed-wire fence. The result was a disaster, as the rider was taken by ambulance to a hospital, and the bleeding horse remained ensnarled in the wire until the slow process of cutting it away was completed.
The underlying tragedy was seen in the fact that the jump was a low one, which the horse could have easily cleared. Yet, the horse mistook the fence to be an opening in the course and thus an escape from the obstacle.
We are often like that foolish horse! When faced with difficulties, do we look for the way out rather than trusting God’s provision? Do we break for an opening at the first opportunity, only to find that we have become ensnared and that our present difficulty is far worse than the one we sought to avoid?
Wealth May Not Give Happiness
Author Unknown
After the death of Abderman, Caliph of Cordova, the following paper was found in his handwriting: “Fifty years have elapsed since I became caliph. I have possessed riches, honors, pleasures, and friends. In short, I have had everything that man can desire in this world. I have reckoned up the days I could say I was really happy, and they amount to fourteen.”