Waste Not

  STRENGTH FOR MY DAYS 

A Daily Devotional by Bishop David 

Waste not

Friday, 4 October

 

When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost. John 6:12

SCRIPTURE FOR TODAY: John 6:1-12 After these things Jesus went over the sea of Galilee, which is the sea of Tiberias. 2 And a great multitude followed him, because they saw his miracles which he did on them that were diseased. 3 And Jesus went up into a mountain, and there he sat with his disciples. 4 And the passover, a feast of the Jews, was nigh. 5 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? 6 And this he said to prove him: for he himself knew what he would do. 7 Philip answered him, Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little. 8 One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, saith unto him, 9 There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many? 10 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. 11 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. 12 When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost.

 

MORE LESSON: Joel 2:25 And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpiller, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you.

 

A thorough search through the Scripture shows God's hatred for waste. The miracle of multiplication of bread and fish had just taken place and the attendant euphoria was enough for people to go home without paying attention to the left over. However, Jesus instructed that they gather up the fragments and when they did, to their amazement they had twelve baskets. The lesson here is what we take for granted as little waste can amount to much if we pay attention to it.

If we can effectively deal with wastes in our lives and our communities we can overcome poverty. By the nature of resources they are usually limited and always need to be conserved. People who waste their resources don’t get to the wealthy place. There is a place called the wealthy place and only people who master the art of conservation of scarce resources get there. Nations rise and fall by the correct deployment or otherwise of their peculiar resources.

Resources are manifold and can be listed to include time, talents, mineral deposits, opportunities, comparative advantages, strengths etc. If an individual decides to waste his time, he can end up wasting his life if care is not taken. Similarly, if a man wastes his talent(s) he will come to nothing in life. Time and talent are linked in such a manner that greatness results from them if deployed correctly. The other thing that must not be wasted at all by sensible individuals is opportunity. When opportunity comes and it is taken the result can be phenomenal.

Believers in Christ are in a good position to maximise the blessings of God upon our lives by the help of the Holy Spirit. By the direction of the Spirit of God we can be led to avoid wastage in all ramifications. The power that we can wield by the Holy Spirit is unquantifiable. Just like Jesus had to tell the disciples to gather the fragments, if we walk in the frequency of the Spirit He will teach us not to waste anything whether it be money, opportunities, talents or any other resource. The prayer is that God should help us always to be sensitive to the Spirit's guidance so that we don't get caught up with the spirit of waste.

 

Prayer/Action

* Decree that by the mercy of God you recover from every waste that you have ever suffered.

 * Pray that you will no more waste opportunities in life.

 * Declare that greatness awaits you as God helps you to avoid losses going forward.

 

TODAY’S PROPHETIC PRAYER: This day, I proclaim that the Lord is with me like a mighty terrible one. I shall fear no evil, in the victorious name of Jesus.

 

TODAY’S FASTING FOCUS: Divine cover; Psalm 105:12-15