God’s Way of Setting You Up For a Blessing

Have you ever wondered why, in some Bible stories, God asked the people to give the little they had to Him? It may appear cruel to the natural man, but the truth is that that was God’s way of setting them up for a blessing! God’s way of setting you up for a blessing is to use whatever you have, and multiply it back to you once you put it in His hands.

The widow of Zarephath had only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil to make one last meal for her son and herself before they faced death because of long periods of famine on the land. I am sure Elijah’s request would have sounded barbaric. Why not go to someone with plenty to spare! But she trusted God and used a portion of the little that she had to make a cake for the prophet Elijah. And God rewarded her by making sure that her jar of flour was not used up and her jug of oil did not run dry until the drought ended. (1 Kings 17:8–16)

Another example is seen in John 6:1-13, where a little boy gave his little lunch of five loaves and two fish to Jesus because the multitudes were hungry. The Bible recalls that not only did he eat to his satisfaction with the food being multiplied, but he also saw it being used to feed more than 5,000 people with leftovers of 12 baskets.

Whenever we give the little we have to God, whether it is money, time or energy, it opens up our hearts for God to fill us up with more than we could even imagine. And when we give our lives to God, we can trust Him to make things right for us and to be the rewarder of our faith.

When Ruth, a childless Moabite widow, left the comfort of her home to follow her mother-in-law Naomi and the God of Israel back to a foreign land, she was given a full reward by the Lord (Ruth 1:16). God gave Ruth protection and ensured that she was well-provided for through Boaz, a wealthy relative who took on the role of kinsman-redeemer for her and Naomi (Ruth 2:9, 4:9–10).

My beloved, as you trust God with yourself and what you have today, know that He loves you and is setting you up for more blessings. So expect to see even more of His provision and abundance in the days to come because that is God’s way of setting you up for a blessing!