Don't Bury What God Gave You
Key Truth | Faithful stewardship begins with trusting the character of the One who entrusted us with what we have.
Key Scripture | “The master was full of praise. ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!’” — Matthew 25:21 NLT
God has placed something in your hands.
It may be a gift, an opportunity, a relationship, a resource, an influence, a season, or even a part of your story you never expected Him to use. Whatever it is, Jesus reminds us in Matthew 25 that what we have has been entrusted to us.
In the parable of the talents, the master gave different amounts to each servant, “dividing it in proportion to their abilities.” One received five bags of silver, another received two, and another received one. The amounts were different, but the assignment was the same: be faithful with what you have been given.
That matters because comparison can convince us that what God placed in our hands is somehow insignificant. We look at someone else’s gifts, opportunities, platform, resources, or season and assume that more must mean better. But the master never criticized the servant with two talents for not having five. He simply asked him to faithfully steward the two he had been given.
God knows what you can carry.
There are times when we ask God for more responsibility, more influence, more opportunity, or a larger platform, while He is asking us what we are doing with what is already in our hands. In the Kingdom, increase often follows faithfulness. Jesus said, “You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities.”
God’s way is very different from the world’s way. The world often tells us that more is always better. More success. More recognition. More possessions. More influence. More responsibility. But God is not trying to overwhelm us. He is forming us.
God gives what you can steward; the enemy will give more than you can steward.
That is why Kingdom wisdom sometimes looks foolish by the world’s standards. First Corinthians 3 reminds us that “the wisdom of this world is foolishness to God.” The world says, Hold tightly to everything you have. Jesus says, Surrender it to Me.
Jesus told His disciples, “If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it.” The Kingdom of God is full of this kind of upside-down wisdom. We receive by giving. We become strong through surrender. We find life when we lay ours down.
The only way we truly lose what God has given us is when we become so afraid of losing it that we refuse to use it.
That is exactly what happened to the servant with one bag of silver. He buried it. But notice why.
He told the master, “I knew you were a harsh man… I was afraid I would lose your money, so I hid it in the earth.”
His greatest problem was not laziness. His greatest problem was that he had developed a distorted view of his master. He believed the master was harsh, so he responded in fear.
And that raises an important question for us: What do we believe about God?
Do we believe He is waiting for us to fail? Do we believe He is disappointed in us? Do we believe His expectations are impossible? Do we believe He withholds good things from us? Or do we believe He is a loving Father who knows us completely, gives wisely, leads patiently, and desires to form something beautiful through our lives?
A.W. Tozer once wrote, “What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.”
Our view of God influences everything.
It affects how we pray, how we worship, how we give, how we serve, how we respond when He stretches us, and what we do with the things He has entrusted to us.
Fear will always move us somewhere. It can move us toward hiding and self-protection, or it can expose the places where we need to trust God more deeply.
The one-talent servant allowed fear to make his decision for him. Rather than faithfully using what had been entrusted to him, he buried it.
Sometimes we do the same.
We bury gifts because we are afraid we are not good enough. We hold back generosity because we are afraid there will not be enough. We avoid serving because we are afraid we might fail. We resist forgiveness because we are afraid of being hurt again. We refuse to take the next step because we cannot guarantee the outcome.
But watchfulness does not mean idleness.
Jesus is coming again, and faithful followers are not called to spend their lives simply waiting. We are called to faithfully use what He has placed in our hands while we wait.
Paul describes this same Kingdom principle through sowing and reaping: “A farmer who plants only a few seeds will get a small crop. But the one who plants generously will get a generous crop.”
What we sow matters.
We sow with our words.
We sow through our generosity.
We sow into relationships.
We sow with our time.
We sow through obedience.
We sow through forgiveness, encouragement, service, worship, and faith.
And sometimes, when we do not like what we are reaping, it is worth asking what we have been sowing.
Not because every difficult circumstance is something we caused, but because Scripture consistently reminds us that our daily choices produce fruit over time.
Jesus said, “Give, and you will receive.” Paul said that the one who plants generously will reap generously. There is a Kingdom principle at work: what God places in our hands was never intended to stop with us.
Your gifts were meant to be used.
Your resources can become someone else’s provision.
Your encouragement can strengthen someone who is struggling.
Your testimony can help someone believe that God can redeem their story too.
Your time can become an investment in another person.
Even the areas where God has healed you can become places through which He brings healing and hope to others.
God does not waste surrendered things. He can take every part of your story and use it for His glory. But that requires us to open our hands instead of burying what He has entrusted to us.
At the end of our lives, the greatest reward will not be having accumulated the most, accomplished the most, or been noticed by the most people.
It will be hearing the words: "Well done, my good and faithful servant.”
Take a moment and look at what God has already placed in your hands. Instead of asking, “Why don’t I have what they have?” ask, “God, how can I faithfully steward what You have given me?”
Maybe there is a gift you have been afraid to use, a step of obedience you have delayed, a resource you have been hesitant to release, or an opportunity you have overlooked because it seemed too small.
Do not bury it because of fear.
Open your hands. Trust the One who gave it to you. Sow faithfully where God has planted you, and allow Him to decide what the increase will look like.
Reflection
Prayer | Father, thank You for everything You have entrusted to me. Forgive me for the times I have compared what You gave me to what You gave someone else, or allowed fear to cause me to bury what You placed in my hands. Help me see You clearly and trust Your heart toward me. Teach me to be faithful with my gifts, my time, my resources, my relationships, and my story. Give me wisdom to know what to hold loosely, what to sow generously, and where You are asking me to take a step of obedience. I do not want fear to determine how I live. I want my life to reflect trust in You. May I faithfully steward everything You give me so that one day I can hear You say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” In Jesus’ name, amen.
Additional Scripture
1 Corinthians 3:18–19 — God’s wisdom often looks very different from the wisdom of the world.
Matthew 16:24–25 — Jesus teaches that real life is discovered through surrender rather than self-preservation.
2 Corinthians 9:6–8 — Generous sowing flows from a willing heart and confidence that God will provide.
Luke 6:37–38 — Jesus reminds us that what we release toward others has a way of producing fruit in our own lives.
Matthew 7:21–23 — Knowing about Jesus and even doing things in His name can never replace truly knowing Him.
Key Scripture | “The master was full of praise. ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!’” — Matthew 25:21 NLT
God has placed something in your hands.
It may be a gift, an opportunity, a relationship, a resource, an influence, a season, or even a part of your story you never expected Him to use. Whatever it is, Jesus reminds us in Matthew 25 that what we have has been entrusted to us.
In the parable of the talents, the master gave different amounts to each servant, “dividing it in proportion to their abilities.” One received five bags of silver, another received two, and another received one. The amounts were different, but the assignment was the same: be faithful with what you have been given.
That matters because comparison can convince us that what God placed in our hands is somehow insignificant. We look at someone else’s gifts, opportunities, platform, resources, or season and assume that more must mean better. But the master never criticized the servant with two talents for not having five. He simply asked him to faithfully steward the two he had been given.
God knows what you can carry.
There are times when we ask God for more responsibility, more influence, more opportunity, or a larger platform, while He is asking us what we are doing with what is already in our hands. In the Kingdom, increase often follows faithfulness. Jesus said, “You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities.”
God’s way is very different from the world’s way. The world often tells us that more is always better. More success. More recognition. More possessions. More influence. More responsibility. But God is not trying to overwhelm us. He is forming us.
God gives what you can steward; the enemy will give more than you can steward.
That is why Kingdom wisdom sometimes looks foolish by the world’s standards. First Corinthians 3 reminds us that “the wisdom of this world is foolishness to God.” The world says, Hold tightly to everything you have. Jesus says, Surrender it to Me.
Jesus told His disciples, “If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it.” The Kingdom of God is full of this kind of upside-down wisdom. We receive by giving. We become strong through surrender. We find life when we lay ours down.
The only way we truly lose what God has given us is when we become so afraid of losing it that we refuse to use it.
That is exactly what happened to the servant with one bag of silver. He buried it. But notice why.
He told the master, “I knew you were a harsh man… I was afraid I would lose your money, so I hid it in the earth.”
His greatest problem was not laziness. His greatest problem was that he had developed a distorted view of his master. He believed the master was harsh, so he responded in fear.
And that raises an important question for us: What do we believe about God?
Do we believe He is waiting for us to fail? Do we believe He is disappointed in us? Do we believe His expectations are impossible? Do we believe He withholds good things from us? Or do we believe He is a loving Father who knows us completely, gives wisely, leads patiently, and desires to form something beautiful through our lives?
A.W. Tozer once wrote, “What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.”
Our view of God influences everything.
It affects how we pray, how we worship, how we give, how we serve, how we respond when He stretches us, and what we do with the things He has entrusted to us.
Fear will always move us somewhere. It can move us toward hiding and self-protection, or it can expose the places where we need to trust God more deeply.
The one-talent servant allowed fear to make his decision for him. Rather than faithfully using what had been entrusted to him, he buried it.
Sometimes we do the same.
We bury gifts because we are afraid we are not good enough. We hold back generosity because we are afraid there will not be enough. We avoid serving because we are afraid we might fail. We resist forgiveness because we are afraid of being hurt again. We refuse to take the next step because we cannot guarantee the outcome.
But watchfulness does not mean idleness.
Jesus is coming again, and faithful followers are not called to spend their lives simply waiting. We are called to faithfully use what He has placed in our hands while we wait.
Paul describes this same Kingdom principle through sowing and reaping: “A farmer who plants only a few seeds will get a small crop. But the one who plants generously will get a generous crop.”
What we sow matters.
We sow with our words.
We sow through our generosity.
We sow into relationships.
We sow with our time.
We sow through obedience.
We sow through forgiveness, encouragement, service, worship, and faith.
And sometimes, when we do not like what we are reaping, it is worth asking what we have been sowing.
Not because every difficult circumstance is something we caused, but because Scripture consistently reminds us that our daily choices produce fruit over time.
Jesus said, “Give, and you will receive.” Paul said that the one who plants generously will reap generously. There is a Kingdom principle at work: what God places in our hands was never intended to stop with us.
Your gifts were meant to be used.
Your resources can become someone else’s provision.
Your encouragement can strengthen someone who is struggling.
Your testimony can help someone believe that God can redeem their story too.
Your time can become an investment in another person.
Even the areas where God has healed you can become places through which He brings healing and hope to others.
God does not waste surrendered things. He can take every part of your story and use it for His glory. But that requires us to open our hands instead of burying what He has entrusted to us.
At the end of our lives, the greatest reward will not be having accumulated the most, accomplished the most, or been noticed by the most people.
It will be hearing the words: "Well done, my good and faithful servant.”
Take a moment and look at what God has already placed in your hands. Instead of asking, “Why don’t I have what they have?” ask, “God, how can I faithfully steward what You have given me?”
Maybe there is a gift you have been afraid to use, a step of obedience you have delayed, a resource you have been hesitant to release, or an opportunity you have overlooked because it seemed too small.
Do not bury it because of fear.
Open your hands. Trust the One who gave it to you. Sow faithfully where God has planted you, and allow Him to decide what the increase will look like.
Reflection
- What has God placed in my hands during this season that I may have overlooked, undervalued, or been afraid to use?
- When I think about God, do I primarily see Him as a loving Father I can trust or as someone I am afraid of disappointing? How might that view be affecting the way I follow Him?
Prayer | Father, thank You for everything You have entrusted to me. Forgive me for the times I have compared what You gave me to what You gave someone else, or allowed fear to cause me to bury what You placed in my hands. Help me see You clearly and trust Your heart toward me. Teach me to be faithful with my gifts, my time, my resources, my relationships, and my story. Give me wisdom to know what to hold loosely, what to sow generously, and where You are asking me to take a step of obedience. I do not want fear to determine how I live. I want my life to reflect trust in You. May I faithfully steward everything You give me so that one day I can hear You say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” In Jesus’ name, amen.
Additional Scripture
1 Corinthians 3:18–19 — God’s wisdom often looks very different from the wisdom of the world.
Matthew 16:24–25 — Jesus teaches that real life is discovered through surrender rather than self-preservation.
2 Corinthians 9:6–8 — Generous sowing flows from a willing heart and confidence that God will provide.
Luke 6:37–38 — Jesus reminds us that what we release toward others has a way of producing fruit in our own lives.
Matthew 7:21–23 — Knowing about Jesus and even doing things in His name can never replace truly knowing Him.
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