And when it was evening, his disciples came to him, saying, This is a desert place, and the time is now past; send the multitude away, that they may go into the villages, and buy themselves victuals. But Jesus said unto them, They need not depart; give ye them to eat. And they say unto him, We have here but five loaves, and two fishes. He said, Bring them hither to me. And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the grass, and took the five loaves, and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, he blessed, and brake, and gave the loaves to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude. And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the fragments that remained twelve baskets full. And they that had eaten were about five thousand men, beside women and children.
Matthew 14:15-21 KJV
Many of us are familiar with this miracle. What’s in it for us?
Father, thank you for your word. Give us the grace to grow in our hunger and thirst for truth. May we delight in You. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Takeaways:
1. Jesus cares:
The disciples wanted to send the people away so that they could go and buy food. But Jesus told them to give the people something to eat. Jesus cares about us. Each one of us: man, woman, boy and girl. The figure of five thousand did not include the women and children. If He cared about each and every person in that crowd, will He not care for you and I?
2. Jesus listens:
How can one care without first listening? I can visualise the conversations between Jesus and the disciples. I can imagine Him listening intently, wanting to know why the people could not be fed. Jesus, is God: omniscient. Doesn’t He know our thoughts and needs even before we think or voice them? I tend to get rather impatient and bored when someone tells me something I already know. But not so with God. He listens to us. He enjoys it when we talk to Him. He desires for you to seek and commune with Him.
3. Five powerful words:
And they said, we have here only five loaves and two fish.
He said, “bring them here to Me.”
Those five words stood out for me.
Here are the disciples telling Jesus that all they had was five loaves and two fish….for five thousand people minus women and children.
This reminds me of reality. Whatever that may look like for you. Your real life circumstances. You know, the cards you’ve been dealt….believer or not. It is hard, I know. We all have burdens to bear, sometimes heavier than our backs can carry. Whatever the load is, as impossible as it may seem….take it to Him.
He says, bring them here to Me.
Leave the rest to Him. Could the disciples have imagined the magnitude of the miracle that was to come? I’d say no. Can you imagine how God will move in your situation? Probably not. That is not for you to lose sleep over. Yours is to trust that He who cares enough to say, ‘bring them here to Me‘, will do whatever He needs to for His glory.
4. There’s more to it than food:
Remember man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that comes from the Lord.
As we grow in our desire and yearning for God, He not only fills up….He not only satisfies; but as we abide in Him, our cups overflow. (Psalms 23).
Be encouraged as you continue to read God’s word.
FAITH.GOD.A HUNGER 