I Have Nothing

I have nothing.

That was one of the first thoughts that went through my mind as I realized it was my turn to offer something up for our readers this week. “I have nothing.” Zip. Nada. Not even an inkling of an idea.

Then that idea began to resonate with me. It is true: I have nothing. I never do. Anything I can offer you as food for thought comes straight from God. I either get ideas directly from His word, His blessings in my life, or His providential care.

As I began to explore that idea, I found that it is actually a pretty deep thought. Consider Jehovah’s words, through Moses, to the Israelites in Deuteronomy 2:7: “For the Lord your God has blessed you in all the work of your hand. He knows your trudging through this great wilderness. These forty years the Lord your God has been with you; you have lacked nothing.” Their lacking nothing is directly linked to the fact that God had been with them. God had given it all to them!

By the book of Nehemiah, at least some of God’s people had realized that. As they are confessing their sins and reading God’s Word, part of their cry to God includes these words: “You alone are the Lord; You have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, The earth and everything on it, The seas and all that is in them, And You preserve them all. The host of heaven worships You” (Nehemiah 9:6, emphasis added).

Job, in his despair, and Solomon, in all of his wealth, had both figured out, almost word for word the same message. Job 1:21 reads, ““Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return there. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; Blessed be the name of the Lord.” And Ecclesiastes 5:15 says, “As he came from his mother’s womb, naked shall he return, to go as he came; and he shall take nothing from his labor which he may carry away in his hand.” Solomon continues in Verse 19, “As for every man to whom God has given riches and wealth, and given him power to eat of it, to receive his heritage and rejoice in his labor—this is the gift of God.“

So, while it is true that I, in and of myself, have nothing to offer you, God does! He always does whether you recognize it or not. He gives us the very air we breathe, the things that give us joy, the beauty of the world around us, the strength to deal with pain and sorrow, the hope of eternal salvation … He offers it all. God is the giver of good gifts.

Remember the warning that Jesus gave to the church at Laodicea, some of whom were saying, “I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing.” Jesus said, apart from Him, the reality was that they were “wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked” and advised them to come to Him (Rev. 3:17).

After all, while I have nothing, He has everything and stands ready to give. In fact, He already has.

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)

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AUTHOR: Amber Tatum