Work with what you have

 

Here’s a compelling truth. It’s also really simple. Sometimes we wish we had more to work with. We want to be able to have everything fully in place before we start. We like to be totally prepared. We like to have all the materials. We like to have all the knowledge. Here’s the thing, though. We often don’t start off with a perfect scenario. So, here’s the compelling truth: Work with what you have.

I know. This is really basic. And you’re probably thinking, “Didn’t he already talk about this yesterday?” No, that was, “It is what it is.” Sounds similar, doesn’t it? So, am I just splitting hairs? No, there’s a difference. Although, I’ll admit they are probably different aspects of the same idea. But what this particularly refers to is not always waiting for the pieces to be in place to start something.

One thing that ‘working with what you have’ does is keep us from procrastinating. When we don’t have everything to start something it makes for some really convincing excuses. We almost convince ourselves sometimes, even if no one else buys it. But the truth is that we can always find reasons not to do something. I had that problem when I started this blog. I didn’t want to start because I didn’t feel like I was ready. I didn’t feel like I knew enough. I didn’t feel like I would be able to set it up like I wanted. However, I realized that some things you have to learn as you go.

Some people feel that way about their careers. They would like to do something different. They even have something in mind. Something they’ve always wanted to do. But for whatever reason they never got the chance to go to school when they were younger. Now, they find themselves approaching middle age, married with a couple kids and they feel like their opportunity has passed. They feel like they don’t have the time because they have too many responsibilities now. They don’t have the money because they have too many other expenses. They may even have plans on still doing it, but they’re waiting for the right time. But the “right time”, really meaning the perfect time, will probably never come. The real question isn’t always, “Do I have all the pieces in place?” The real question is, “How bad do I want a positive change in my life?”

So, say you want to go to law school. Obviously you have to have some things in place. You have to have the smarts. You have to have a plan to pay for it. But you don’t have to have the knowledge of a lawyer. Otherwise you wouldn’t need law school. You don’t need all the money up front. You just need the money for one semester at a time. So, you start there. You start with what you do have. And that’s all we can ever do, is start right there.

 

…Let’s go deeper

So, work with what you have. Even Jesus did that at times. When Jesus fed the 5000, and also when He fed the 4000, He started with the loaves and fishes He had in hand. Of course, He greatly multiplied what He had in hand to feed a multitude. Even though He just performed a great miracle, He used what was on hand as a starting point. But in whatever miracle Jesus performed, faith was always involved.
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viagra sales canada Also the effects of one single pill last for 3-4 hours which means that one can enjoy several loves making session with the help of one single pill one can carry out several love making sessions. But, prostatitis cure is buy brand viagra possible with medications. There is a strong link between erectile Dysfunction(ED) and heart attack is still not well understood by medical practitioners as well as the men who sildenafil price suffer from heart disease. This can translate to less flow of blood cheap soft viagra in to the targeted penile tissues this drug can make the tissue structure smoother as natural, stronger as required and durable as demanded in order to enjoy a successful sexual encounter. AV Matthew 14:17-19: “And they say unto him, We have here but five loaves, and two fishes. He said, Bring them hither to me. And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the grass, and took the five loaves, and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, he blessed, and brake, and gave the loaves to [his] disciples, and the disciples to the multitude.” Here Jesus performed a miracle of feeding of the five thousand. The interesting thing is that He started with just 5 loaves and 2 fishes. He then brake and blessed them and fed the multitude. Why did He do this? I believe that it’s a sort of example to us. I believe it’s because God wants us to give Him what we do have, so that He can work with that. We may often feel like it’s just not enough to accomplish the task. And the reality is it’s not, by itself. But if we give Him what’s right in front of us, He will use it to accomplish whatever He asks us to do.

AV Judges 7:7: “And the LORD said unto Gideon, By the three hundred men that lapped will I save you, and deliver the Midianites into thine hand: and let all the [other] people go every man unto his place.” God gave the Midianites into the hands of the Israelites. Gideon only had 300 men against a multitude. They actually started out with thousands. But God pared it down to just 300. Why did He do this? Well, God wanted them to know that it was He that won the victory. He didn’t want any of them to think it was something that they did in their human strength. Starting with such limited resources, God wanted to do what could only be described as a miracle.

AV Hebrews 4:2: “For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard [it].” In addition to God’s instructions to us and us following them, we have to have faith that He will accomplish His work in us and through us. God’s word and what He tells us to do doesn’t profit us until we believe it to be true. It has to be mixed with faith. Then we act on that belief. That’s what Jesus did. That’s also what Gideon did. And that’s what God wants to do through us as well.

AV Matthew 14:17-19: “And they say unto him, We have here but five loaves, and two fishes. He said, Bring them hither to me. And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the grass, and took the five loaves, and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, he blessed, and brake, and gave the loaves to [his] disciples, and the disciples to the multitude.”

AV Judges 7:7: “And the LORD said unto Gideon, By the three hundred men that lapped will I save you, and deliver the Midianites into thine hand: and let all the [other] people go every man unto his place.”

AV Hebrews 4:2: “For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard [it].”

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