Does your situation, circumstance or outlook seem too big or overwhelming and your "lunch" too small today? Well, I know I've often found my tent in the same campground! But a sweet young boy had this lesson that offered a fresh perspective on the provision of God in times similar to ours.
Being a lay person, I do not have or claim to understand all the words God left for us to ponder but, I was reminded recently of what Jesus did with a little boy's lunch many years ago. You remember? The boy had two fish and five loaves of bread--not much, but just the right portion for a young lad. Yet this boy's lunch meant a tummy-full-of-difference for a whole lotta folks that day!
Take a look with me at John, chapter 6. Jesus, knowing how the events of the day would transpire, wanted to test His disciple, Phillip, and asked him, "Where shall we buy bread for all these people?" (You remember it was 5000 plus spouses and children, making the number closer to over 10,000 hungry people.) Phillip answered that it would take half a year's wages to feed all of these people. At this point Andrew steps up and points out that a young lad in the crowd has two fish and five small barley loaves. WHAT?!?!? You've got to be kidding, Andrew! Do you really think all these people are going to be fed with just that tiny lunch?! Yet as we see later, this small lunch is the starting point, the seeds if you will, of an amazing miracle.
Could the disciples still have needed convincing proof of the power of the Savior? Better yet, do we? Sometimes we can only see the huge, massive crowd-of-a-problem that's staring us in the face, not really knowing how it's all going to work out. What do we do? Do we say, Lord, send "the crowd" away" ? How about, "But Lord, we just don't have the resources for this." Whatever our weakness, God. Beginning with a tiny seed of faith in the One who can do miracles, would be a great starting place for facing our own personal "crowd".
"Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish. When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, 'Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.' So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten." (v.11-13, text)
So, I ask again, does the situation, circumstance or outlook seem too big or overwhelming today and your "lunch" too small? Remember, one little boy had a tremendous lesson for us all--Give it to Jesus.
