Fresh Start Devotionals

God’s Economy Have you noticed how big SUV’s have gotten? I saw a report on a morning show the other day of one that was so big, it couldn’t even fit in a garage. The price tag on those puppies is more than what we paid for our first home. (Though I think our first home probably got better gas mileage.) Wal mart has Super Centers and McDonald’s will super size your meal for you. While we want bigger, God asks for the little things from us. Remember Gideon’s army? He had 32,000 men and God said there were too many. God pared it down to 300 soldiers, just the right amount. When they were down to the right size, God used them to defeat the Midianites. In God’s economy, bigger isn’t always better. Why would God want less men instead of more? When God’s prophet Elijah was hungry in the days of the famine, do you remember who He sent him to for food? A widow who just had enough flour and oil to make one more meal for her and her son. She fed the prophet, then fed her family. The next day she looked in the cupboard and there was enough to do it again. She continued to feed Elijah and her family from the same supplies until the famine was over. Why would God require a poor woman to provide food for His hungry prophet? Why 300 soldiers instead of an army of 32,000? Any military mind can design a plan to win a battle with plenty of men and supplies, but only God can defeat a nation with 300 men. Why a widow to feed the prophet? Anyone can feed a prophet with bountiful supplies. God chose someone with small supplies, but great faith. She may not have had much food but she had great faith. She fed the prophet first and God honored her faith. Don’t ever underestimate the power of small things in God’s hands. Don’t hesitate putting whatever you have in God’s hands-whether it is large or small, He can use it to do His will. Jim L. Wilson, Fresh Start Devotionals (Fresno, CA: Willow City Press, 2009).