“When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns. When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick. As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food.” Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.” “We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered. “Bring them here to me,” he said. And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children.” (Matthew 14:13-21).
The disciples, who had just seen Jesus heal all the sick people in this large crowd, and who had been exposed to the supernatural so intimately, naturally fell back into their own understanding. We all do this so frequently. They saw a great need and saw their lack and left it at that. Jesus just says, “No, YOU give them something to eat.” We, like the disciples, see a need and fret. We see what we lack and we worry. We see what we lack and we give up. Jesus sees a need and meets it. There are many times in my life that I have “sent people home”. There are many times in my life that I’ve seen needs and thought, there’s nothing I can do about this. I pray my thought process changes daily so my first response isn’t giving up because it’s impossible for me, but having faith and persevering because it is possible for God. This is where our thinking needs to change. There is always something God can do about it, and often times, He wants to use us. It isn’t about being qualified, it isn’t about being perfect, it’s about having faith that God is the God of the impossible and that He places us in Divine situations and we need to realize that there is always more we can do. Ephesians 3:20 says, “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us…”. The disciples could have sent the people into the village for food. The people still would have been fed for the day. But because the disciples listened to Jesus, looked beyond what they lacked and brought Him that tiny meal, the multitude was blessed by the miracle and so were the disciples. I challenge you this week instead of telling someone you’ll pray for them, taking the time to pray with them right then and there, as one example. What is God asking you to do lately? What are ways you can do more with bigger faith? What are ways you can look beyond what you lack and see the Lord’s perfect provision?
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AuthorKatie Rusch. Archives
January 2021
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