Your Best May Come from Your Emptiest Place
Well, now, friend, how about you there just wanderin’ up this way like a bright-eyed little ol’ chipper fox that just caught the delicious scent of somethin’ warm and wonderful bakin’ in the kitchen. Ok, then, come on through this gate and git yourself right up here on this here front porch right over there at the table in the gazebo area because what we’re gonna go traipsin’ into a scripture area richer than fresh made homemade brownies with pecans sprinkled on top and firmer than an old cuttin’ horse that knows how to help the ropin’ cowboy git that calf caught wrangled. Now, I’m gonna have to tell you that I was watchin’ a determined little ol’ squirrel earlier as he was hoppin’ from branch to branch like he was auditionin’ for a job in the circus as a trapeze artist. And right then. I had to be thinkin’ seriously, “Goodness gracious, if that jittery lil’ ol’ critter can give his all with nothin’ but a nut and a dream, surely God’s people can learn to give their best, too.” That there idea settled right on in like the gentle hush that rolls in when the wind decides to sit a spell. It plum make me think of Colossians 3:17, “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus.”
Have you ever given your best when you had the least? Beethoven sure did. The man wrote his greatest symphony when he couldn’t even hear a single note. While the orchestra played their hearts out, he sat there keepin’ tempo like an ol’ rooster keepin’ close watch over his hens. When the music ended, he plum didn’t even know that the crowd was cheerin’ for him until someone turned him around. He never even got to hear the great applause for his finest work.
Friend, that there tells me somethin’. Sometimes your greatest givin’ comes when you feel emptier than a feed bucket after a hungry ol’ goat gets to it. Maybe your strength is plum gone. Maybe your resources are plum thin. Maybe your heart feels like a tired old barn that has weathered one too many storms.
But give anyway.
The widow in Mark 12:43-44 gave two tiny coins, and Jesus said she gave more than all the rest who have given much more. God delights in what comes from the heart, not the size of the offering.
Father, thank You for the strength to give even when I feel empty. Help me offer my best to You, no matter what I have or do not have. Let my life honor You in every word and deed. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Now there it is, friend, and let me set this good truth beside you the way an old mare settles herself out under a tall shade tree to graze on some special sprouts of grass, slow but full of certainty. Your greatest contribution may rise right out of your greatest limitation. God is not waitin’ for you to have more. He is waitin’ for you to trust Him with what you already hold. So, give like a lil’ hummingbird that cannot help but be flappin’ his wings as he flutters around collectin’ sweet nectar. Serve like a lil’ beaver that has a need to be buildin’ with whatever branch is in his paws. And, friend, just let God handle the applause. He hears every single note, even the really sweet ones you just can’t.
With joy,
Gwen
