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“Then Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.”

What do you have? You can only give what you have. “Look at us!” Peter said to the lame man by the temple gate called Beautiful, we have the name of Jesus, so we give the name of Jesus. Peter was not focused on what they lacked – silver and gold. Peter was able to do the impossible, make a man lame from birth walk, jumping up and down despite their lack of the very thing that was requested by the man. Peter, John and the other disciples achieved feats which stood the test of time in spite of their apparent lack of wealth.

Recently, I was thinking about some of my goals and dreams, and the resources I lacked to make those dreams happen. Particularly the silver and gold type! I heard the Lord say emphatically in my heart, it’s not what you lack that hampers you. It’s not knowing what you have! Imagine if Peter and John did not know what they had – that lame man would have died lame! Missed out on a great deliverance and miracle. “Ah Father”, I sighed, “help me to walk in the knowledge of what I have, all you have given me”.

You see, people and nations are waiting on the demonstration of what you have. Silver and gold, you may not have. The right connections and ancestry you may not have. You may be disadvantaged by your past. Your current situation may be a powder keg of pressures and it looks like you don’t have what it takes to cut it. Fear not! If you have Jesus, you have more than enough. If you have the name of Jesus, you are already halfway down the track!

If in Romans 10:8, the Bible says the ……. “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart….” and if out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. How can you ever believe that you lack what you need? The word is in your heart and out of that abundance of heart the mouth speaks. Cue the mother of Jesus, Mary at the Marriage at Cana. She noticed the wine had run out. She lacked wine to give. But she knew the One in whom there is no lack. The One whose name is effectual in the face of lack. “Whatever He tells you to do, do it” she wisely told the party servants. In effect, Mary was saying, wine I do not have, gold and silver I do not have but what I have I give unto you.

And we know how that story ends, because a mother gave what she had – access to her son- God Himself. Through the actions of a woman not focused on what she lacked, but on what she had – the wedding guests had the taste of their lives! That confidence by Mary to demand a change of the wedding situation based on what she had (and knew she had) led to the beginning of miracles Jesus did in Cana of Galilee.

So, next time the lack of a thing causes you to fret, remember the name of Jesus. With that name comes power. Anytime you are tempted to focus on what you lack, remember Peter and John, Mary also, and declare with boldness what you do have – starting with name of Jesus!

 

Thanks for reading.

Emi x