Have you ever been short on cash? Have you ordered your food at a restaurant then noticed you did not have enough money to pay for it? Have you ever been to a potluck dinner and thought there was no way there was enough food?
Many of us have experienced not having enough money at one point or another in our lives. It may have been an embarrassing moment, or it may have been one you simply caught and kept to yourself. Not having enough money can be embarrassing for us.
Maybe you have witnessed it and maybe you have not, but I have witnessed what appeared to be a miracle of food going much further than I thought. When I still lived in Virginia, we used to have a monthly potluck at the church following the last Sunday’s worship service. There were a couple of times when it appeared we were woefully short on food. But just like the stories of Jesus with the loaves and fish, we have plenty left over and everyone was full.
Sometimes we are just like the disciples. We look at what we have, feel it is inadequate, and sorrowfully bow our heads. We attempt to pass the responsibility on to someone else. We may try to pass it off on to those who are depending on us to provide. We may simply come to Jesus with our hat in hand and ask Him to fulfill the need and, honestly, not really expect much.
If it wasn’t for the fact it could become repetitive and ignored, I’m sure Jesus could say, “Ye of little faith.” We rightfully deserve to hear those words far too often. But Jesus had compassion for His disciples just like He had compassion on the people earlier in the passage. He simply has them bring what they have to Him and He uses it in a miraculous way.
I pray we all bring our needs to Jesus. I pray we trust Him to do what only He can do. I pray each one of us seek to do what we can and ask Jesus to fill in the gaps. Bring your needs to Jesus. Trust Him to handle it. Do what you can do. Ask Jesus to provide what you cannot.
Matthew 14:16-17 Jesus said to them, “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.” They replied, “We have nothing here but five loaves and two fish.”
Marty Pressey 