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What to do when you ain’t got enough ….!

water jug SX383Ruth Tong offers encouragement for the times we feel inadequate to serve God.

There’s an old story that goes something like this – There once was a man who carried two water jars up the hill to his house every day. One of the jars had a crack and so water dripped out and left drops all along the path.

Because this is a story the jars can speak, so the undamaged jar scorned the cracked jar saying “Look how you waste the water that our master has to carry home after his long day’s work in the hot sun - What a useless jar you are!”

This made the cracked jar sad because he loved his master and didn’t want to cause him extra work. He wished he could be like the water-tight jar, but no matter how hard he tried to ‘hold it all in’ he still leaked!

One day, on the way home, the rope of the good jar broke causing it to fall to the ground, smashing it into lots of pieces so it was useless. Now the poor master would have only the leaky jar to carry his water. This made the leaky jar sadder still, so he decided to share his sorrow with his master.

he master said, “Why do you worry so - Did you not see the side of the path where you leaked?  I sowed seeds there, and you watered those seeds every day as I carried you.” 

Sure enough on one side of the path there were the most beautiful flowers in glorious colours which fragranced the journey of the master as he walked home each day.
 
Just like the jar we can also feel leaky and lacking as we try and walk out the purposes God has for us. Right now I don’t seem to have enough energy, enough sleep, enough time or clarity of thought! It seems that part of the ‘fallen-ness of the world package’ is that we never have enough of what we need.
 
How often have you thought “If only I had …… I could……?
I wonder what it is you need more of right now- money, company, wisdom or hope?
Perhaps you feel ‘It’s like the nearer your destination the more you’re slip sliding away’ to quote an old gospel song.
Hence the title of this column - What do you do when you find yourself without enough?
 
Well, I’ve found it helpful to make like the jar and talk it over with the Master. Share it with Him because I wonder if this ‘lack’, this leaky living, is by design? You see, our God wants to be intimately involved with our journey day in day out. He knows what He’s about in the cracks and flaws of your character.

In our story the master used the flaw of the jar to bring about something wonderful, and God can do the same for you. You may not feel like the finished, refined or polished jar: - That’s good because you’re not - None of us is!

All God requires is that we humbly bring ourselves with all our scuffs and cracks as an offering each day. God will use us and yes, at times, even carry us so His purposes are accomplished in the fullness of time.
 
Water jug image is courtesy of Gabriella Fabbri at http://www.freeimages.com/ 


Ruth Tong
Ruth Tong is the Coordinator of Women’s Ministries at Eternity Downham Market, and is the author of ‘Love Drops from Heaven’.  Ruth regularly blogs at 
ruthtong.com/blog

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