Nothing Is Wasted (by Cathe Laurie)

“Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted” (John 6:12 NIV)

I admit, I am kind of funny about throwing away leftovers.

My fridge is full of tidbits of meat, veggies wrapped in tin foil, jars of broth—a multitude of ingredients that could easily be considered useless and tossed away. Instead, I treasure those little pieces as opportunities for later meals.

Take, for example, a pot roast. Goodness knows I love a good pot roast.

If you let that pot roast sit in the fridge for a couple of days, it tastes even better the second time around. And if you don’t feel like pot roast again, the tender meat can be shredded up and spiced up to use for tacos or taquitos. Remaining chopped onions, tomatoes, and peppers can be sauteed into an omelet the next morning. Everything has potential and use!

Let Nothing Be Wasted (John 6:12)

Jesus loved leftovers, too. Remember the story of Him feeding the 5,000 hungry people in John 6? The crowd had followed Jesus out of town to listen to His teaching and watch Him heal. They were all still gathered as mealtime approached. It was late, and everyone was hungry.

The disciples asked Jesus how He planned to feed the crowd. Jesus took what He had—five loaves of bread and two fish—and made a meal to feed them all. Once everyone was fed, it seemed the story would end. But Jesus had one more lesson to teach. He instructed the disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted” (John 6:12 NIV).

It wasn’t enough for Jesus to feed the people until they were full. He wanted every last forgotten, broken piece and crumb collected.

God loves leftovers—leftover people, leftover resources, leftover time, leftover and forgotten sheep, lost coins, and wayward children. Any scrap and detail that can easily seem insignificant to us, He goes after them like Agatha Christie after a clue.

Bring God What You Have

Maybe you’re a momma who feels like you’ve given all you have to your spouse and kids. Maybe you’re going through a season that has torn you apart and left you wondering how to pick up the pieces. Maybe you’ve exhausted yourself chasing after temporary things or getting lost in sin and don’t feel worthy to approach the Lord.

You might feel like you only have leftovers to give, mere crumbs of yourself that seem insignificant and inconsequential in the grand scheme of things. But friends, whatever you have. . . the Lord loves your leftovers, and He wants to transform them into something beautiful.

No matter how small you feel, no matter how little you feel you’re bringing to the table, bring Him the crumbs. Bring Him those leftover chopped onions and tomatoes. Let Him take your loaves and fish and do a miracle with them. Nothing is too small. Nothing is insignificant. Nothing is left unused in the hands of the Lord.

Bring Him what you have and see what He does.

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Cathe Laurie is the founder and director of the Virtue women’s ministry. She is also a featured speaker on The Virtue Podcast, at Harvest events, and the author of As I See It. You can find her weekly articles here on harvest.org.