What do you have in your hands?
The disciples had been sent by Jesus to go and heal the sick, cast out demons and speak of the Kingdom of God from village to village and He commanded them to only take a staff with them, no bread, no extra shirt and just wearing saddles. He wanted them to focus on nothing but the mission that He had sent them out to do. They later then gathered around Jesus reporting of the great work they had done, at this time Jesus knew they were hungry and had not rested then says in verse 31;
âCome with me by yourself to a quiet place and get some restâ
But as they were going to this âquiet placeâ people who recognized them followed them and some went ahead of them so this quiet place turned into a church and gathering of seeking people, people hungry for something they didnât know they needed. When Jesus saw this big crowd of people He welcomed them and saw sheep without a shepherd and began teaching them many things. When Jesus was welcoming this big crowd, His disciples wanted to chase them away because they were tired and were expecting a quiet place to rest and retreat from the work they had done, but didnât realize that the work they were doing was preparation for what they were about to experience with Jesus. So the disciples tell Jesus, âsend these people away to near villages and to the countryside so they can buy themselves something to eatâ then Jesus replies saying; âYou give them something to eatâ. Now you can imagine how confused and probably irritated the disciples were at this point because they had come to rest and now Jesus refuses to send these multitude away but He is rather telling them to feed this multitude whereas they themselves are hungry and tired.
Jesus told them before He sent them to heal and pray for people that they should take nothing, no food, no bread, no water, just the saddles on their feet and a staff, they could hardly feed themselves but yet Jesus told them to feed the multitudes of people around them whereas they wanted to send them away. It is as if they had forgotten the person they were with, they were in the presence of Jesus, right there speaking to Him but Jesus had to remind them of who He is, having gone out to pray for people in the village without Jesus they forgot they needed Him, they forgot what He was able to do.
In John 6 where is speaks of the same story Jesus asks; âWhere shall we buy bread for these people to eat?â but Jesus only said this to test them because He knew already what He was to do and also knew what they would say. Philip then with his human mind said; âIt would take more than half a yearâs wages to buy enough bread for each one to have a biteâ only a bite, not to eat until they were satisfied but just a bite, Andrew then also added by saying âHere is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?â another one speaking not in anticipation of Gods miracle but out of discouragement of so much demand but very little supply. So many problems but looking to themselves for a solution, It is then that they undermined what they had in their hands, by saying;
âWe have ONLY five loaves of bread and two fish-unless we go and buy food for all this crowdâ
It is as if they were saying we only have this little, but we can go and try with our own might to get more, forgetting that He can do exceedingly and abundantly more than what they could ask or think, they wanted to resort to what they could get with their own power because they didnât trust that what God had given them was enough. If 5 loaves and two fish is all you have, maybe its all you need to see a miracle from God.
Verse 41 of Mark 6 then says Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, Jesus gave thanks and broke the loaves and the fish, giving them to His disciples to distribute to the people. verse 42 then says;
âThey all ate and were satisfiedâ
Remember in John 6 Philip, one of Jesusâ disciples said it would take more than half a yearâs wages to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite. Just a bite, which would never be satisfactory to the multitudes who were fed to the point of satisfaction. When Jesus broke the bread and the fish he couldnât have fed the multitudes on His own but needed the very disciples who wanted to resort to their own strength to feed the thousands, the disciples who were telling Jesus to send the problem away are the very people feeding the problem with something they already had in their hands, they needed nothing else but the five loaves and two fish to feed the multitudes. God took the very limited resource they had and multiplied it a thousand times to feed the multitudes, and those multitudes all ate and were satisfied.
Looking at this miracle, it was not only for the multitudes, it was for the disciples who wanted to resort to their own power to feed the thousands, they needed to be reminded of the power of God, reminded of the Jesus they walk with and follow. When the 12 disciples gathered the leftovers they filled 12 baskets full, each basket for each disciple which would be a testimony of the miracle they didnât expect. A miracle they almost missed because they wanted to send the problem away. Be willing to put yourself in a position where the only way out is by the hand of God. We want only to be called to tasks where we know our own strength will be sufficient, we want God to move but we donât want to face the red sea, we want the walls to come down but no one wants to come to Jericho. It is at a position where Egyptians are charging against you where a miracle from the very hand of God will save you. it is time we knew that God would never lead us where He wouldnât go.Â
When Jesus sent them to go proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick in the villages, He wouldnât have done that without giving them power and authority over demons and impure spirits. (Luke 9:1). Understand that the disciples didnât call themselves but were called by Jesus and Jesus gave them what they needed to conquer and He knew they would come back and report only good news to Him. God always provides a solution for a problem you didnât even know you would have.
The disciples were expecting a âquiet placeâ to rest, but came to a place filled with thousands of people hungry and tired just as they were. But God already had a solution of a boy having 5 loves and 2 fish, which seemed like it wasnât enough to the eyes of the disciples but God went before them and provided a solution with what they had in their hands.
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- Lord let me not be too caught up in the size of my problem that I miss an opportunity for a miracle from your hands.
- Lord let me not be too quick in wanting to send my multitudes away and not look up to the heavens giving thanks to you for the very provision you have given me, even though I think its very little.
- Give me the strength to be able to give you the very little i have in my hands for you to multiply it for my benefit.
- Give me the eyes of the spirit so that i donât look at my little resources as insufficient for you to use.
