WHAT WASTE?

10/06/26 WHAT WASTE?

Matthew 26:7-13

There came unto him a woman having an alabaster box of very precious ointment, and poured it on his head, as he sat at meat. But when his disciples saw it, they had indignation, saying, to what purpose is this waste? For this ointment might have been sold for much, and given to the poor. When Jesus understood it, he said unto them, why trouble ye the woman? For she hath wrought a good work upon me. For ye have the poor always with you; But me ye have not always. For in that she hath poured this ointment on my body, she did it for my burial. Verily I say unto you, wheresoever this gospel shall be preached in the whole world, there shall also this, that this woman has done, be told for memorial of her.

The disciples questioned the waste of something valuable because it was used in a way that they did not understand. Have you ever had regret or wished that you had made a different decision after a deed was done? Has someone judged you, your words, or your actions to be wasted or worthless because you have not measured up to what they had in mind? The value assigned by man, purposes of man, ways of man are NOT equivalent to what God has determined for us. The woman with the alabaster box was judged to be wasteful, but Jesus let the disciples know that this precious ointment was not wasted. This ointment had a purpose that the disciples were not aware of until Jesus made them aware. They thought there was a better use for it. Maybe after becoming aware of the purpose, they decided that this particular ointment, was even more valuable than they originally thought. How much more would they have been willing to pour on Him had they known the purpose? The effort, time, conversations, activities that we put into what we believe is best at that time, are not wasted. God sometimes has a purpose that we are not aware of. His thoughts and ways are higher than ours (Isaiah 55:8-9).

We do not know the ultimate purpose of everything that happens to us. But God has seen and known us before we were born and already knew everything that would and will happen in our lives; all that we say, think, or do. Jeremiah 1:5 says Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations. In Ezekiel 11:5 God says “I know the things that come into your mind, every one of them”. There are no surprises for God about what we say or do. We, however, do not have the capacity to hold in our hearts or minds all of His vision, knowledge, wisdom, or understanding; we never will. But we do not need to know the end of everything, we need to trust Him with and in everything.

Not only does He know us, but He loves us. He sent His son to die for all our sins and has made a way for us to be with Him eternally. Romans 8:35 asks Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? The answer comes in Romans 8:38-39 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. In His great love, power and dominion He is able to compass our every action and thought, and yet redeem us, our time, our strength, and our work.

He said in Isaiah 43:1 But now thus saith the Lord that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine. Exodus 15:13 tells us Thou in thy mercy hast led forth the people which thou hast redeemed: thou hast guided them in thy strength unto thy holy habitation.

That should be our ultimate desire and destination, to be in His presence, in His holy habitation! That is what He wants for us, so He saves to the uttermost (Hebrews 7:25) and carries us through the toughest and the best of our days until we enter in. Isaiah 63:9 In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them: in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bare them, and carried them all the days of old. God has never brought us to any point to drop us, but will continue to carry us as He says in Isaiah 46:4 And even to your old age I am he; and even to hoar hairs will I carry you: I have made, and I will bear; even I will carry, and will deliver you. God has us in His hands from birth to eternity!

Let us not forget what Philippians 1:6 tells us: Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. Whatever we endure, spend time on, work through, work with, lose, gain, see or miss, let us take the attitude of Paul in Philippians 1:19-20 For I know that this shall turn to my salvation through your prayer, and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death.

We must move forward in life and not dwell on the past never being afraid to go forward. We can be as Paul says in Philippians 1:28, not be terrified by your adversaries (1 Peter 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour), but understand that all that comes our way is in accordance with God’s purpose, plan, or permission. Philippians 2:13 tells us For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

To get beyond the sense of waste in our past we must adjust our way of thinking. In Philippians 1:12 Paul said But I would ye should understand, brethren, that the things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel. He recognized that although his situation was not comfortable, there was a purpose. Then he asked a question in Philippians 1:18. The question was “What then?” We need to know that there is an ultimate purpose to everything we endure, even if we do not know the answer to that question. We can continue to live for Christ and do as Paul did in Philippians 1:20, maintain our expectation and hope, believing that we will be ashamed of nothing, for God ultimately gets His glory. But we must understand that we will suffer something for His sake. Philippians 1:29 says we not only believe on Christ, but we suffer for His sake. Life is not always bountiful nor easy. When experiencing unpleasant and adversarial events, we must start counting like Paul in Philippians 3:7,8,13-14. Only what Christ wants should be valuable to us, and we should push aside all that interferes with fulfilling His will for us and in us. We then reach for those things that God has ahead and above us. We do not walk backwards in life unless it is for bodily exercise. But in Christ, our mind set should be focused on forward and upward.

We must surrender all our burdens, concerns, cares, and even our thoughts to Him (Philippians 4:6) and adjust our mindset that focuses on things that are true, honest, just, pure, lovely, and positive (Philippians 4:8). We must put our confidence in God’s power, love, dominion, wisdom, plan, and purpose. Christ gives us strength to do what we must (Philippians 4:13), including suffering. But let us continue to trust that God will complete every good work in us according to His perfect will. Jeremiah 29:11 says For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Remember Philippians 1:6 says Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. Romans 8:28 lets us know that everything we experience works together for our benefit. Benefit is not waste! But all of our lives God’s eyes and hands are on us. No trouble that we endure or work that we do is meant to tear us down or destroy us, and there is a reward from God for all of it. Romans 8:18 tells us that the suffering that we endure on this earth is not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us; Romans 8:19-23 tell us that we were created to live here on earth with expectation and hope while we are waiting for the redemption of our bodies. So, there is no place for regrets, only expectation, hope, and praise and the ultimate goal of spending eternity in a place prepared by our Saviour in, His presence (1 Thessalonians 4:17)! Amen!

Reach out with your thoughts or requests for prayers

Email

essence.gloriyah@gmail.com

© 2025. All rights reserved.