THE ONLY PLACE TO START IS WHERE YOU ARE
Start with what you have, not with what you don’t have. Opportunity is where you are, not where you were. People tend to underrate or overrate what they don’t possess. Don’ ignore what you can do, looking at what you can’t do. God doesn’t ask us to begin with abundance. He asks us to begin with obedience. What’s in your hand today?
Moses had a stick. David had a sling. A young boy had five loaves and two fish. None of it looked impressive—until God touched it. Scripture reminds us, “What do you have in your hand?” (Exodus 4:2). Heaven’s miracles almost always start with earth’s leftovers.
We are tempted to wait until we have more—more money, more time, more confidence, more clarity. But God doesn’t do His best work in the land of “someday.” He works in the now. “This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24). Opportunity doesn’t live in yesterday or tomorrow. It lives right where your feet are planted.
To move anywhere, you must first move. Faith is not a thought; it’s a step. Jesus said, “Go out into the deep water and let down your nets” (Luke 5:4). He didn’t say, “Wait until the water is calm,” or “Wait until the boat is bigger.” He said, Go. Faith launches before it fully understands.
We often underestimate what we already hold because we’re too busy admiring what we don’t. Comparison has a way of shrinking gratitude. Yet Scripture assures us, “God has given each of you a gift from His great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well” (1 Peter 4:10). Not someday. Not when conditions are perfect. Use them now.
God delights in using ordinary people with ordinary resources to accomplish extraordinary purposes. “But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise” (1 Corinthians 1:27). Why? So no one mistakes the miracle for human effort. When God multiplies what you bring, He gets the glory.
Many of the most effective people weren’t prepared—they were available. They stepped forward before they felt ready. Ecclesiastes gives this simple wisdom: “Whoever watches the wind will not plant; whoever looks at the clouds will not reap” (Ecclesiastes 11:4). Waiting for perfect conditions is a subtle form of fear.
Don’t despise small beginnings. God never does. “Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin” (Zechariah 4:10). What feels like “almost nothing” is often God’s favorite starting point. Nearly everything He does begins quietly, humbly, and unnoticed.
What you have right now—your story, your skills, your experiences, even your limitations—can become the seed for something greater. “His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness” (2 Peter 1:3). Not everything we want. Everything we need.
You don’t need to do everything. You only need to do something. And that something—done in faith—can open the door to more than you imagined. “Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will succeed” (Proverbs 16:3).
So start where you are. Use what you have. Take the step you can take today. God specializes in meeting us at the starting line—and walking with us all the way to the finish line.