“And they said to Him, “We have here only five loaves and two fish.”  He said, “Bring them here to Me.” Then He commanded the multitudes to sit down on the grass. And He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke and gave the loaves to the disciples; and the disciples gave to the multitudes. So they all ate and were filled, and they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments that remained.”

-Matthew 14:17-20

The word that stood out to me in the verse above was “only.” Sometimes, we look at our lives and just see what we are lacking. We find ourselves saying “I only.” I only have this or I only have that. But, we can’t have anything more substantial, if aren’t willing to give God what we have. Yes, in order for Jesus to multiply what we have, we need to be willing to “take what we have and give it to Him.” Jesus wants us to place everything in His hands. But, are we really willing to place EVERYTHING in God’s hands? Are we willing to give Him our lives (our minds, our hearts, our bodies), our loved ones/friends, our careers, our talents, our strength, our weaknesses, our problems, our abilities, our material possessions, our dreams, our hopes… our everything? God wants it all! Matthew 11:28-30 says, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” If we can give him our everything (yoke), He in return gives us His yoke, which much lighter than our yoke. It’s like taking a burden off our shoulders. But, I’m not saying it’s easy to give Him everything (especially for micro-managers like some of us). I’d have to say it’s more of a process: something that needs to be done everyday. “Relying on God has to begin all over again every day as if nothing had yet been done.” -C.S. Lewis  But, when it’s done sincerely and wholeheartedly, it’s incredibly liberating knowing it’s all in His hands and that whatever gifts we give Him, He is going to multiply them or replace them with better/greater gifts or provide for us in ways we could never imagine. Amen.