Jesus Feeds the 5,000
If you’ve been in church, you know this story. It’s beautiful, right? It shows His power, His majesty. It shows us He can do ANYTHING.
At this point in His life, Jesus had a good following, and the crowd was eager to be at His feet, hearing what He had to say, seeking His healing. He’d obviously spent a good amount of time with them because the bible tells us it got to be “evening”.
Matthew 14:15 says, “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.”
The disciples knew the people would be getting hungry. Aren’t we always hungry? Hungry for something. Food, love, rest, finances, patience. More, better. We are all hungry, all the time.
Often, when we find ourselves in a season of hunger, we run and look to satiate our appetites in so many places other than Jesus. Maybe it’s with food, maybe it’s with alcohol, or drugs. Maybe it’s with relationships, or hobbies. I don’t know what it is for you, but I know that your heart is hungry.
When the disciples suggest sending the people away to find what they need, he stops them.
Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.” (Matthew 14:16)
We don’t need to go away from Jesus to fulfill our hungry. He knows what we need. He is Provider. Even when it doesn’t make sense. Even when we can’t see it. His plan is NOT for us to starve. Jesus came so that we could live life, and live it in FULL.
The disciples scrambled to figure something out, and the best they could find was a boy willing to offer all that he had.
“Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?” (John 6:9)
Let me say that again, all they could find was a boy, WILLING TO OFFER ALL THAT HE HAD.
Jesus doesn’t say, “That’s not enough.” or “I wish you had more to give to me.”
No! He says, “Bring them here to me.”
And you KNOW what he does. He FEEDS THE FIVE THOUSAND! And, still has to pack up some to go boxes!
Jesus isn’t waiting for you to get it together before you come to Him. He isn’t waiting for you to prepare the grandest offering of all time. He just wants YOU, as You are, bringing him ALL THAT YOU HAVE TO OFFER.
Maybe today, all that you have to offer, isn’t much. BUT HE CAN AND WILL MAKE MUCH OF IT.
Somedays, I’m so tired. I’m tired of fighting the battle of addiction with my husband. I’m tired of walking the road of infertility, when all I want is to make my girl a big sister. I’m tired of a lot. But, in that, I will give Him ALL that I have to offer.
On a bad day, all that I can offer is biting my tongue when I want to say something ugly when I’ve been offended. On a good day, it might look like praying over my husband in spite of how he’s wronged me. On a bad day, it might look like emptying the dishwasher when all I want to do is sit on the couch. On a good day, it might look like making a home cooked meal for a friend who needs a break.
Whatever it is, He can use it. He can multiply it in ways you’d never dream.
I can’t know what you have to offer Him today. But you know, and He knows.
Don’t be afraid that you don’t have enough to give. If He can feed 5,000 people with so little, imagine what He can do in your life if you’re willing to give Him all that you have.
Jesus doesn’t want us to run away from Him to find what we need. He wants us to give Him the little that we have, so that He can FILL US UP.
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