Nothing Wasted

When Jesus then lifted up his eyes, and saw a great company come unto him, he saith unto Philip, Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat…? One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, saith unto him, There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many? And Jesus said, Make the men sit down. Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. And Jesus took the loaves; and when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down; and likewise of the fishes as much as they would. When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost. Therefore they gathered them together, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and above unto them that had eaten. John 6:5, 8-13 (KJV)

We live life, and we experience a whole lot of things. After all, life is to be lived. But, not everything we encounter is to our liking. In fact, we often try to change things so they aren’t so bad. However, in all our living and learning- in all our training and experiences- God is using it all to mature us, prepare us, and make us wise. He is working in us to make us more loving, caring, and sensitive to others.

God can use hurt to make us healers, rejection to encourage us to accept others, and being overlooked so we will notice other people’s needs. If we take all our life experiences and give them to God, we can live life without regret because we will have no unforgiveness, anger, or bitterness. God uses it all so we can be used by Him. Each thing we go through is utilized by the Lord to make us vessels of honor, channels of His power, and instruments of righteousness.

Much of who we are is based on our experiences- good and bad. God takes it all and can use it to shape us into who He designed us to be. When we give ourselves to Him yielding to His touch and allowing Him to do what He wants with us, nothing is wasted in the hands of Jesus.

In Jesus’ hands, that which seems little becomes much. Christ multiplies, increases, and works miracles. As a result, we end up as more than we were when we began and we end up with more too- no matter how little we had to start with.

So, gather up all the pieces, all the experiences of your life. Give them to Jesus, and see what He will do with them. He takes our life experiences and uses them to make us who He wants us to be so we can do what He has called us to do. Nothing is wasted. Nothing is lost. There are no regrets and no remorse. Jesus makes up for every loss- lost time, lost relationships, lost finances, lost health. Place it all in Jesus’ hands. He knows what to do with it.

Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ: Philippians 1:6 (KJV)

God knows who you are and where you are. He who started the work in you will be faithful to complete it. You are a masterpiece in progress, a poem for all to read. Let everyone see and read everything God has done in and through you.

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:10 (KJV)

With God, nothing is lost or wasted, but it’s all used for His glory.