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Such as We Have

Acts 3:6

"Silver and Gold have I none, but such as I have give I thee. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!"

With these words, Peter gave a great gift. A man who had never known what it was like to move unassisted, whenever and wherever he chose, suddenly had legs under him—that is, legs that worked! Now there was a gift, and think of that man's unspeakable joy.

Acts 3:8

"He went with them, (Peter and John) walking and leaping and praising God."

I venture to say his response would not have been as great had Peter given the begged-for silver and gold. He would have been happy with his alms, may have said, "Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you," but walking and jumping and praising God—probably not.

There are many needs in our world that present themselves to us all the time. Maybe needs are seen in people on the streets with "Will work for food" signs, or evidenced by piles of "gimmee" letters from favorite charities or others who got the mailing lists somehow, or seen in needs of a friend who has just lost a job.

And perhaps the needs are closer to home: college students needing help to get launched in life; elderly parents needing our time and energy to adjust to great changes; or a child with developmental and physical challenges who needs services and supports beyond what we can provide.

Often, we think it might be easier and more convenient if we could just solve problems with "silver and gold". Unfortunately, the silver and gold only goes so far. When confronted by so many needs, we may find ourselves saying, "Silver and gold? I'm out, but I'll give you what I have," or as in the song, "Such as I have give I thee!"

That's the real question: "What've I got to give?" What's in that satchel called "Such-as-I-have-give-I-thee"? Is it Peter's great post-Easter, post-Ascension, post-Pentecost faith? Or the power of God? Maybe not…but maybe.

The point here is that because we are God's people, redeemed by His grace, we have the entire range of His resources at our disposal. The problems and needs that we face, often seemingly insurmountable, and often so close to us as our own family, are insignificant compared to the resources of our God. As His people we can ask for His best, and then watch Him work. Some steps:

  1. Focus on what He has done—what He has already given. You have been given His love. Use it to comfort, to soothe, and to provide a ministry of presence. Let people know that God loves them, wants to help them and can help them. You have been given a history of God working in your life. I love the story in the Bible where God's people stand up a stone and name it Ebenezer, "Thus far the Lord has helped us." It reminded Israel that God had been and was still with them. It reminded her enemies of this also, and they stayed away. When you can think about what God has done in the past, you can have much more confidence to ask for His help in the future.
  2. Focus on His will. Go to Him in prayer. You see a problem—you may have some ideas how to solve it. After all, you have a good brain—God gave it to you! But let's face it, God may have reasons, resources, and solutions far beyond our feeble human abilities to discover, let alone comprehend. For His own reasons, He might want things to be happening just as they are, or He may be waiting for you to take that step of faith and ask for His help. The answer is prayer: "Not my will but Yours be done." In other words, "Do for us according to Your will, for that is always the best thing for us
  3. Focus on God's glory. The man in this story who could not walk, and the man blind from birth in John 9, would probably have told us after they were healed that they were glad things happened this way, that they might even put up with their disability all over again, just so Jesus could be glorified as He was. When we have struggles and pray, is it that we'd get our way or that God's glory would be seen in the outcome He provides?

This is our "such-as-I-have-give-I-thee." God has put Himself in us through baptism and faith in Him and His Word. We are part of Him. We can ask anything of Him knowing that He hears us and has promised to answer. While there are never guarantees with God that He'll do what we want (and isn't that a good thing?) there is always the promise that He gives His children the very best.

Lord Jesus, what I have to give is You. You live in me. Let me help other people find Your presence and solutions to their needs as they trust in You also. Amen

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