And he
directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the
two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he
gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people.1
The story of
how Jesus fed the 5,000 is one that we have been hearing since we were children
in Sunday School. However, reading it as an adult has opened my eyes to things
I hadn’t seen before.
Jesus was
actually grieving the death of his cousin, John the Baptist, when this event
happened. Jesus withdrew himself from the crowd, like many of us would do, and
went to a solitary place privately. After all that had taken place, I am sure
he had a lot on His mind and needed time to process it all. However, as soon as
the crowds heard of this, they went walking all the way to where Jesus was. Now
Jesus could have very well asked them to leave or come back another day, but
the Bible says that “he had compassion on them and healed their sick”. He put
his own feelings aside and tended to the work God had set before him. Since the
place Jesus had gone to was away from the town, the disciples encouraged him to
send the people away, as it was getting late, and people were going to be
hungry. Instead, Jesus chose to feed them right then and there. As we all know,
there were only five loaves of bread and two fish, but Jesus never doubted that
His Father would provide what was needed. He gave thanks for the food, trusting
that it was already enough. In fact, there was actually food left over after
all had eaten!
Friends, God
will always meet our needs. We may not see it yet, but He will do it. Many
times our faith is what lacks! We struggle to believe what we do not see, so
unless the provision is in front of us immediately, we doubt. But we can be
sure that when we ask God to meet our needs according to His will, we can thank
Him in advance because he will provide.
Suggested
prayer: Heavenly Father, thank you for your sure provision in our lives. Help
my trust in you be so great that there is no room for doubt. When I face sad or
trying times, help me, even then, to be an example of faith, gratitude, and
compassion to others. Thank you for always hearing and answering my prayer. In the name of Jesus I pray, amen.
- Matthew 14:19 (NIV).
Today’s
Encounter was written by: Crystal B.