Use What You Have!
“ Now unto Him who is able to do exceeding abundantly, above all that we ask or think, according to the power which works in us!”
– Ephesians 3:20
I recently finished musically directing a production of The Wizard of Oz. Like many of you, I have seen this show many times before and grew up watching the movie. But, I noticed a plotline during this production that I truly couldn’t appreciate until I reached this stage in my life.
At the end of the show, when Dorothy was disappointed because she could not get home, Glinda (the Witch of the North) appeared to drop a little revelation on her. Glinda informed her that she had the power to get home from the moment she arrived in Oz! All she had to do was click those ruby slippers together and declare that there’s no place like home! That was it and then she would be home!
Now, yes, Dorothy wouldn’t have met her friends – Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Lion – and yes, she did have to learn the value of her family at home, but she could have been home in 5 minutes if she realized the power that was already within her! That brings me to the point of this writing: I wonder how many of us have everything we need to achieve our dreams or defeat our Wicked Witches but just don’t realize it!
In life, we will all face tasks that will seem insurmountable. Perhaps your problem is overwhelming debt, loneliness, depression, or even a struggle to be accepted. Whatever your task, I want you to understand that you already have everything you need to succeed in life; all you have to do is use what you have. We need a boldness like in Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
Sometimes, we are apt to think that all we need is something as simple as more money or more friends to accomplish a task or achieve our dreams. Not so! You have everything you need within you. Dorothy didn’t need Scarecrow, Tin Man, or Lion to get home, she had to use what she already had! The Apsotle Paul in 2 Corinthians 4:7 said “we have this treasure in earthen vessels”, meaning that we have treasure inside our fragile human bodies. That’s why, lately, I’ve been on a treasure hunt!
I want to know what is inside of me because I believe what’s in me will help me get to my destiny. I have been praying like never before so He can reveal to me the treasure that He placed in me. I believe all of us need to spend time in prayer or quiet time to discover what the treasure is in us.
You may have a gift of music: use it.
What about those who are gifted writers? Why don’t you use your writing to encourage others (like I am with this blog) or write that book you’ve been dreaming about! Who knows, that book may be your Ruby Slippers out of living paycheck-to-paycheck.
Whether you’re athletic, musical, witty, a gifted orator, or something else, use the gift you have to get where you need to go! We have our map in the Bible and the Holy Spirit is your compass. He will lead you and guide you to the place where the treasure is and then give you the key to open the box.
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I find it amazing that Glinda knew right from the start that Dorothy could have gotten home using the Ruby Slippers she was given. But instead of getting her right to the finish line, Glinda knew there were lessons that needed to be learned, friends to be made, and enemies to conquer. Glinda set her up! I think God does that too; He sets us up.
Through the hurt and the pain He is setting us up.
We saw that break-up as rejection but it’s really direction; God is pointing you down the right path to meet the right person!
It may look like the end of the road when you lose that job or when a friend betrays you, but God is going to use the disappointment as fuel to propel you to the finish line. Do not stress, it’s a setup!
The Yellow Brick Road
So many of us are walking down that “Yellow Brick Road” trying to find our happiness when, in reality, our happiness is closer than we could ever imagine! You won’t find the happiness you’re looking for in a car you’ve been dreaming about, in the perfect spouse you’ve been praying for, or even just when you lose the weight you’ve been struggling with. Happiness comes from when you also look within yourself and find that you have all you need to survive and thrive.
I do think there is joy in the journey, and I may talk about that in another post, but for now I want you to realize that you are more powerful than you could ever imagine. And you don’t have to spend years searching for happiness when you realize that all you need is inside of you.
So let me encourage you: whatever the task is before you, use what you have to overcome it.
For David, it was a sling-shot and 5 smooth stones that helped him defeat his giant.
For Moses, it was the rod that he used to part the Red Sea that help the Israelites escape from the Pharoh.
Don’t worry about the critics. As Romans 8:31 says, “If God is for you, who can be against you?” And as I write this for you, I am also writing this to encourage myself. I’m on the Yellow Brick Road as well, trying to get to my destiny. But I’m determined to make it; we all can, let’s just use what we have!
But we have this treasure in earthen vessels so that the excellency of the power is of God and not of us. We are afflicted on every side, but not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed.
– 2 Corinthians 4:7-9
So what are your Ruby Slippers? Let me help you identify them. Whatever your talent or your passion is, chances are that could be your Ruby Slippers. There were times in my life that I was depressed or that the task ahead of me was greater than the strength within me. Those were the times I would put on a CD – yes, I grew up in the 90s! – and I would begin to feel better, or at least come up with solutions to the problems that plagued me.
As my skills in music began to grow, instead of putting on a CD I would sing or play a song myself to feel better. I was using my Ruby Slippers! It was my musical gift that I would end up using to bring me peace or clarity in addressing a pressing problem.
On a tangible level, I would use my musical gift to make some money to help ends meet. In college while a music major, I would teach private lessons on the side or even sing in church choirs as a section leader! It seems so obvious and straightforward now, but I was using this gift that I had! And as I used it, I realized that it was opening more doors for me. People began to know that I had a gift that could make their business or church service better.
Like the book Proverbs says, my gift was making room for me and bringing me before great men. Maybe you don’t have a financial need but an emotional need. Use your gift to encourage someone else – I believe that the best way to feel better about yourself is to help someone feel better about themselves. It’s like a boomerang; when you bless someone else, it will always find a way to come back and bless you.
What if you’re not that artistic or musical, or that’s not your gift? I’m sure you have a talent! There is something that you do better than anyone else.
Maybe you’re a gifted athlete. Use that workout time to clear your mind and get the peace you need.
Maybe you’re a great cook. Use it, bake a cake and take it to someone who’s going through a rough time.
Bottom line: use what you have to get what you need!
You don’t need more to be grateful, you just need to be more grateful!