Luke 9:12-14 “Now the day was ending, and the twelve came
and said to Him, ‘Send the crowd away, that they may go into the surrounding
villages and countryside and find lodging and get something to eat; for here we
are in a desolate place’. But He said to them ‘You give them something to eat!’
And they said, ‘We have no more than five loaves and two fish, unless perhaps
we go and buy food for all these people’. For there were about five thousand
men. And He said to His disciples, ‘Have them sit down to eat in groups of
about fifty each.’” (NASB)
Hello,
Feeding of the 5,000 – not a new story! One you have likely
read or heard so many times, that it is tempting to breeze through it when
reading. But this time, something caught my eye that has not before. We tend to
focus on the miracle of the feeding, the person who gave what they could to
Jesus and His ability to do more with it etc. But this is the first time where
I noticed some uniqueness about the front of the story. The disciples noticed and
stated the need for the people to eat on their own. As they see the need, Jesus
told His disciples to feed the people. In the end, they did feed the people….they
passed out the food and made sure everyone got fed – but it wouldn’t have
happened without the power of Jesus at work.
Here is what I see that I relate to in my life: I see the
need around me – then I have a rough idea for how it could be met, but my plan
is limited in impact. You see, we often look to filling needs in our own strength
and ability – and miss the chance to invite Jesus in and let His power and
ability work through us.
If the disciples handle the feeding in their own strength
the story is strange! The people rush the markets of nearby cities, sending
them into chaos without planning for such an amount of people and then they
become scattered from the presence of Jesus.
Instead, we see the power of God and then (read the rest of
Luke 9) Jesus uses the crowds presence as a reason to go to the other side of
the lake and pray – which leads right into Him walking on the water, where
Peter also walks (for a minute) on the water.
When we see the need – don’t go in your own strength, but
let the power of God work through you.
Have a blessed day,
No comments:
Post a Comment