He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much; and
he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much. If, therefore, ye have not been
faithful in the unrighteous [money], who will commit to your trust the true riches? (Lk.
16:10-11).
How many times have heard someone say, "If only I had more money, I
would. . ."? Maybe you have said it yourself--I know I have. By the look of many
things, it would seem to be much more feasible to do some things if we had a larger net
worth.
My dreams have included things like Christian clubs that provided a wholesome environment
for Christians of all ages to come and fellowship. I once thought I would like to have
enough money to buy a large apartment complex and make it a home for the homeless--no cost
to them. Those are just two of the many desires I had, "had I only had more
money."
But my thinking was jarred by a familiar passage of scripture where Jesus fed the 5000. He
didn't sit on the grassy hill side and mutter to himself, "If only I had more money,
I could feed every one of these people." What He did was take what He had, gave
thanks, and trusted God to meet the existing need. He didn't need more resources, He knew
God could help him to make do with what was available.
The major difference here is that I had looked at what I could do--"if only."
Jesus looked at what God willed to do. It was God's will to feed the multitudes, Jesus
just followed through with what needed to be done, trusting God to provided the resource
to make it happen.
What would we do "if only"? Who's will would we follow? It is not for us to
decide what God's will is, but to find and follow it. If we have a predisposition to do a
particular ministry given enough resource, then when the necessary resources come along we
will probably apply them toward what we have willed to do. But we could be forgetting to
see what God has willed for giving us the resources. He may have an entirely different
direction for us to take that we may never see if our ambitions cloud our vision to see
His will. Maybe what we think would be a good use of money is not what God's good use is.
We may want to pay off a new church building project with an inheritance, when it is God's
desire to have a church body built by coming together to pay for it.
Jesus showed faith in the apparent lack of resource to meet the need. We are to do the
same, trusting God to provide. Yet, we are also to trust God when we have an apparent
abundance that He already has in mind what we are to use the excess for.
We may have some great and worthy ambitions, yet if they fall outside of God's will then
they need to be abandoned. God is not so much wanting to see what you can do "if
only" you get what you think is needed to do a ministry or other work, as He is
interested in seeing that you are faithful to do what He gives you to do with the little
you have. If we are not following God's will for us with what we already have, why should
He entrust us with any more that He has already given us?
Doing God's will may sometimes mean holding back when much is held, at
other times, giving from what cannot be seen. | 
Managing God's Resources