Wednesday, April 3, 2019
When the apostles returned, they told Jesus everything they had done. Then he slipped quietly away with them toward the town of Bethsaida. But the crowds found out where he was going, and they followed him. He welcomed them and taught them about the Kingdom of God, and he healed those who were sick. Late in the afternoon the twelve disciples came to him and said, “Send the crowds away to the nearby villages and farms, so they can find food and lodging for the night. There is nothing to eat here in this remote place.” But Jesus said, “You feed them.” “But we have only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered. “Or are you expecting us to go and buy enough food for this whole crowd?” For there were about 5,000 men there. Jesus replied, “Tell them to sit down in groups of about fifty each.” So the people all sat down. Jesus took the five loaves and two fish, looked up toward heaven, and blessed them. Then, breaking the loaves into pieces, he kept giving the bread and fish to the disciples so they could distribute it to the people. They all ate as much as they wanted, and afterward, the disciples picked up twelve baskets of leftovers! Luke 9:10-17
No matter
what else you do with this account…how Jesus did that thing of multiplying the
bread, or dwelling on the people just following Jesus for a meal, or how
stunned the disciples were…there is one thing you cannot afford to lay
aside: God’s ways are higher than ours.[1] That said, we shouldn’t miss how at the same
time Jesus was feeding hungry people in a miraculous way, he was also teaching
the disciples where the next level of following in His steps would take them.
To the
disciples’ credit, they cared for the crowds that followed; they brought the
obvious problem to Jesus that night was approaching and there was no food. Can’t you just hear it – Peter, ever the
first to speak, lays out for Jesus just what to do, make these people take a little
responsibility…send them away now so they can find food in the village. Jesus dumps it right back on the disciples’
shoulders; No, big fella…YOU feed them. Still on the lower level, Peter is groping
for a practical way to make food appear…should we empty the treasury for 5,000
happy meals?
Enter the
miracle!
Someone
once pointed out that every miracle in Scripture came with a problem. Problems, threats, doctor’s reports and
bottom lines, it is the shortages and crises that drive our desperation to the
limit. When we get in trouble is typically
the time we step up our prayer life.
When trouble comes knocking, we want to pretend we didn’t hear anything. But often what comes to our doorstep dressed-up
like a problem is God calling us to the next level of serving. The curious people who had no food got fed,
but the disciples got schooled at the same time. His ways may be higher than ours, but the
heart of God wants nothing more than for His ways to become our ways.
And without
question, there are enough problems in our world that God is using to call us
to step-up our game: YOU
feed them!
For You Today
Whatever
step you’ve camped on in serving God, don’t forget to look up; the next level
beckons!
Go to VIDEO
[1] Isaiah
55:8-9
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