Good morning, everyone, and welcome to my blog. Another week, another dollar, as they say. I pray that you all have a beautiful and productive week ahead. Above all, I pray that we become more intentional with our gifts, our talents, and our skills intentional about building platforms, creating structures, dominating in our areas of assignment, being fruitful, multiplying, and most importantly, walking in purpose.
I truly believe that many people struggle to find the drive to build their lives or pursue meaningful work because they lack a sense of purpose. Purpose gives direction. It gives clarity. It gives you a reason to wake up and keep going even when things become difficult. This week, I want to encourage you to pray and seek understanding about your purpose. Ask God to reveal why you are here and what you are called to do.
Once you begin to understand your purpose, so many things start to make sense. Your decisions become clearer. Your goals become more intentional. Your path becomes more defined. Even your friendships and the person you choose to marry begin to align with where you are going. However, when you do not know your purpose, you end up moving without direction. You find yourself doing everything, following everyone, and chasing whatever comes your way without order or clarity. Anyways, let’s get into today’s topic “What About the Leftovers?”
First, let me tell you a story.
So, I went through a season where I lost my job and not just any job, guys, it was a good job. You know when life is comfortable, your salary is salaried-ing, and then suddenly everything changes? Yeah. That kind of job loss. When you lose something that once gave you stability, you enter a completely different season. A season where you genuinely have to depend on God for provision. Not just for the big things like rent or bills, but for everything. I mean everything. Food, transport, airtime, toiletries… everything.
Now ladies, you already know toiletries are not just “a few things, “ the list never ends. Being a woman is honestly a full-time expense. Which is why I want to quickly encourage you guys, if you can, please support the pad drive by Sinothando Global Impact that’s S-I-N-O-T-H-A-N-D-O Global Impact. If you click the highlighted text, it’ll take you directly to their page where you can donate & get a girl a pack of pads. Anyways, back to the story.
So there I was, in this season of needing provision, and my prayers started sounding very… specific. Every prayer became about what I needed.
“Lord, please provide for this.”
“Lord, I still need money for that.”
“Lord, don’t let me forget to pay this.”
“Lord, I need groceries.”
“Lord, remember my account details are still the same. You can use world remit, PayPal, you can even put the money under my pillow.” Eh l was calling currencies not Zim dollar but yeah, you catch my drift don’t you?
God was still providing for me, honestly. In ways I didn’t even expect sometimes through strangers. While He was providing, He also started teaching me. He started reminding me of certain things. He began showing me lessons that were much deeper than just money. I honestly did not expect Him to address my cooking. Yep.
“When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, ‘Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.’”
John 6:12 (NIV)
He said to me, “I provide food for you every month. I make sure you have groceries but I want you to pay attention to the story of Jesus feeding the five thousand. What did they do with the leftovers?” Because if I’m honest, sometimes I freeze leftovers… and most times I throw them away. Then God challenged me further “Why do you cook more than you need?” He was right. He’s always right. Btw, sometimes I’m a chef eh. You eat & dance at the same time because Sister V, you have done signs & wonders!
Why was I cooking like I was feeding an entire neighbourhood when there were only a few people in the house? Why was I using the biggest pot in the kitchen, filling it up with what would end up in a dustbin? The thing is, overcooking doesn’t just lead to waste. It causes your groceries to finish much faster. The rice finishes quickly. The mealie meal disappears quickly. The meat is gone quickly. Not because people actually ate all of it, but because half of it eventually ends up in the bin or sitting in the fridge becoming something nobody wants to touch anymore.
You know that container at the back of the fridge? The one everyone keeps opening, staring at, and closing again? Exactly. Those icecream lunchtime in every African home. God began teaching me that stewardship is deeper than just how you spend money. Stewardship is also about what you do with the things you spent the money on. You can buy groceries, pray over them, thank God for them, and still mishandle them. You can pray for provision while wasting what was already provided.
That was such a difficult truth for me because sometimes we enjoy the receiving, but we do not enjoy the responsibility of taking care of what remains. Yho. After everyone had eaten and was full, Jesus instructed the disciples to gather the leftovers. Why? Because God is not wasteful. Think about it, Jesus could multiply bread and fish every single day if He wanted to. He was not lacking in power or provision but even in abundance, there was still an instruction to gather what remained.
That means the fact that God provides daily does not give us permission to waste daily. God is abundant, yes but that you will fry 15 drumsticks and kill your self with gluttony because you just got promoted. “I’m a foodie.” Beautiful! But let’s actually Selah. The last time God provided, what did you do? “I paid tithe so it’s cool.” God is also interested in what you do with the rest of the money. You complain about weight gain but you are in restaurants daily & now you have to pay more money for the gym & herbal teas because you don’t want a potbelly but you ate 11 kfc’s a day, driving through. You see now? We have to tell each other the truth.
The bread & fish that He gave you, either you pack the left overs & actually eat them or you cook what is enough. I believe this is also for someone. Stop being wasteful. Stop it immediately. Social media is full of people who waste & they do it for views. Food that someone is crying for. We may think it’s not that important but if it wasn’t, why is it in the bible? Do things responsibly. Don’t forget that God wants an account for all He has given you. God bless you and see you tomorrow.
If you read my blogs but have never met this Wonderful Jesus that I’m always writing about, you’d love to get to know Him, Or you know The Lord but have found yourself drifting far from Him, I would love to talk with you. Please send me an email on yieldedcwcenter@gmail.com or simply comment, and I will reach out to you
