rebelling against low expectations

You Don’t Have Much to Offer

Y

Do you ever feel that you don’t have much to offer? That you just aren’t talented enough to make a difference? Do you ever feel that, as just one person out of seven billion, you can’t make any significant impact on the world today, not even in your immediate surroundings?

If any of these ring a bell to you, you’re not the only one. Everyone at some point in their lives feel like they don’t have what it takes to make a significant impact on the world today.

But it’s this feeling of weakness that keeps us from experiencing all that God intended us to be. And, believe or not, it’s that weakness alone that God wants to use to change the world for His glory.

Can God really do that? Here’s how He did:

In John 6, Jesus and His disciples were being followed by a very large crowd of about five thousand people. When its discovered that they were hungry, Jesus commanded his disciples to feed the crowd.

However, the disciples told Jesus they didn’t have enough to offer to the crowd which, from a plain eye perspective, was true. One even commented: “It would take more than half a year’s wages to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!” (John 6:7).

Was it wrong for the disciples to doubt what they had to offer? It was understandable. They really had wasn’t really much. On it’s own at least. Jesus knew this too but His perspective was way higher.

Another disciple then noted a little boy’s lunch which was just five loaves of bread and two small fish. But the disciple doubted that was enough to feed the crowd.

But Jesus, knowing very well how many hungry people there were, decided to use what the little boy offered to feed the whole crowd. After giving thanks for the little meal, Jesus (you ready?) miraculously multiplied it. That’s right multiplied it! As in from barely enough to more than enough. The entire crowd was well fed that day and not only that, there was actually food left over!

So how does this story relate to us now in today’s age? It’s simple. No matter how insignificant or how little it may seem you have to contribute, Jesus has the power to not only use it but to multiply it…BIG TIME…for His purposes, in your life and in the lives of others. Never underestimate your God-given potential. In His eyes, you, with His help, can change the world for the better!


Share Your Thoughts in the Comment Section!

There are currently 6 Comment(s)


Photo courtesy of Send me adrift and Flickr Creative Commons.


Print Friendly, PDF & Email

About the author

Robert Banks

gave his life to Christ during his senior year in high school. His dream is to fly in space as an astronaut and write books (fiction/non-fiction) that are Christ-centered and inspiring. He has a passion for reading and writing and hopes to have a major influence on the next generation to help them realize their potential in God.

39 comments

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

  • Ever heard of Laminin? It makes me happy x3

    I love the sermon about ‘if earth was a golf ball’ it really shows just how unimaginably big God is, yet he still notices and loves all us very small people on earth who, out of all the much, much bigger stars in the universe, are used by God for amazing things ^_^

    Thank you for sharing this I love it and hope to reach more people around me for His glory!

  • Thanks, Robert. I get stuck in this mindset a lot. I’ll begin to think, “Gosh, if I can’t start a world changing charity or a national revival, what am I even doing here?!” I get scared when I view myself as not doing ‘enough’. But enough for who? To please who or fulfill what purpose? Because I’m given what I’m given and put in the place I’m put for God, not for me or my neighbor or my parents, and God’s purpose might just be for me to focus on the small hard things right now. Thanks for the reminder that God uses the little, insignificant things for his glorious purpose just as much as the breaking-news, “she just changed the flow of culture forever” things. (and maybe none of that is what you really meant by that post, but it brought those thoughts to me, so thank you!)

    • We’re young and ambitious and I think God takes delight in that. But things rarely happen the way we’d expect. While God may have something truly exciting and adventurous and thrilling for us to take part in in our future (or maybe something not so Hollywood) maybe God does want us to do the tiny things right now (Doing well in school, doing your chores, serving others, being responsible with your money, not wasting away so much time on video games, etc.). They may seem little now but in God’s eyes they’re stepping stones to prepare us for the future he has planned for us before we ever did.

      • I never thought of it that way–that the little things right now that seem so hard are actually preparing us for the big hard things God may have in store for us. I completely agree!

  • Wow…perfect timing. I’ve been thinking about this recently – how we have so little time on this earth, and how useless and pointless a life is without Jesus. This post reinforced what I’d been thinking – thanks, Robert!

  • Today’s mantra: God has big dreams for me, no matter what dreams I have for myself are, His dreams are bigger.

  • Wow, exactly! No matter how small you think you are, God can multiply that just like Jesus multiplied the loaves and fish! Good job!

  • Today seems to be all about this topic. Sunday School started with a discussion of “It’s a Wonderful Life.” If you’ve never watched this old movie, watch it this Christmas. Although it is not Biblically accurate, it portrays the very message that is written here. No matter how small or insignificant or normal you may feel you are, you have impacted the people around you. George Bailey (from the movie) comes to the point where he thinks it would be better that he had never been born. He is then allowed to see what life in his town would be like without him. It is not a pretty sight.

    Sometimes we don’t know how we’ve impacted people. I was reminded of this today, as I heard about two young men, friends of our friends, who were killed in a tragic accident. The two oldest boys of our friends had been witnessing to them. And we don’t know what impact that witnessing had in these young men.

    Then on the way home from our get-together, I was reminded of one young lady from a rec soccer team I was on a couple years ago. One day my sister came home from soccer, after I had quit and told me that she was describing me to her friend, Kate. And Kate remembered me because of something I can’t even remember. I had treated her with respect and listened to her opinion, even though she was younger. And she remembered. I impacted her life, and didn’t even know I was doing it.

    Don’t forget that! You are important to the people around you. As my Sunday school teacher said today, “If you weren’t here, I’d be turning around in a circle and talking to myself, which would be a little weird.” Don’t give up on life. God has a plan to use you to impact the lives in your corner of the world.

    • It’s crazy how God can coordinate things to work together like that. What makes it even more special (for me personally) is that we don’t even know we take part in a blessing. This was a very good point. It’s something to really think about. You think you’re not special? If that’s the case, why did God put you where you are? The school you go to? The place you work? The people in your surround yourself daily? Why did God build in all the special qualities that make you you? It’s all part of a plan. Since we’re human we don’t see the whole picture but doesn’t nothing’s happening. It’s all another reason why we should be humbled and why God should be praised.

By Robert Banks
rebelling against low expectations

The Rebelution is a teenage rebellion against low expectations—a worldwide campaign to reject apathy, embrace responsibility, and do hard things. Learn More →