Today we are looking back to another post from our archives, this time from October 18, 2020:
The feeding of the 5000 is more than just a “Bible story.” Even though it might be familiar to you and you may have heard it many times, consider seeing and hearing and processing it in new ways this week. Ask God to help you be open for what HE has for you from these scriptures this week. May you have eyes to see and ears to hear from the Holy Spirit.
God provides not just adequately, but abundantly. He not only supplies, but multiplies. What might seem too big - or too little - to “bring to the table” of the Lord in your life right now? Is there something or someone you can begin praying about and trusting God with this week? Is there something in your life you may have put in the category of “impossible?” That is probably exactly what the disciples thought when Jesus looked at the crowd and then told them, “you give them something to eat” in verse 13! In your own power, many things you are facing very well may seem impossible. But not for Jesus. He is still the God of the loaves and the fishes.
INVITATION: God can make a way when it seems like there is no way. The disciples were likely forever changed after this “at the table” experience with Jesus. They had seen miracles before, but this probably seemed different. Ask the Lord to make this story “different” and fresh for you this week. Be open and receptive to what the Holy Spirit says and shows.
MONDAY: Luke 9:1-6: Jesus had sent his disciples out to perform the same miracles he had been performing. He instructed them to “take nothing for the journey.” No wallet. No cell phone. No transportation. Just the clothes on their backs. They were not to attempt to control how their needs would be met or how people would respond to them. Why do you think God wants us to serve as disciples without having control over resources or circumstances? Why do we seem to need to control these things? What does your answer suggest about how you can pray about these issues this week? Do you jump ahead of God and try to control people and circumstances? How can you pray about that this week?
TUESDAY: Luke 9:7-9: People were talking about Jesus and his miracles and wondering if John the Baptist had come back from the dead (he had been be-headed). There must have been a lot of fear amongst the disciples about following Jesus and telling others about him. Yet they believed it was the only truth that really mattered. What is truth in your life? What fear might be controlling your life? I John 4:18 tells us that “perfect love casts out fear.” Have you accepted - and TRULY believed - in God’s perfect love for you? He calls you his “beloved” and his “friend.” Romans 8:31-39 tells us that NOTHING can separate us from the love of God. How can this help with any fears that are in your life today?
WEDNESDAY: Luke 9:10-13: Imagine you are one of the disciples, returning tired from teaching, healing and driving out demons. You have so many questions to ask Jesus and are looking forward to some alone time in his presence. You are ready to have YOUR cup filled and to be “at the table” of Jesus for a while. Then, to add insult to injury, you hear about the brutal execution of John the Baptist. Jesus invites you to retreat and you are longing for that quiet time to rest and grieve. But the crowds won’t quit following Jesus wherever he goes. When you ask Jesus to send them away (so you can get what YOU want), he says, “You give them something to eat.” But you protest. You say, “I have no more than ________.” In order to fill in this blank, take an inventory of the resources of your life: your personal, family, intellectual, material, physical and spiritual resources. Picture yourself placing these resources in Jesus’ hands, one by one. Consider writing them out. The last resources is yourself - - - resting in Jesus’ arms. When Jesus says: “you give them something to eat” what do you say to Jesus? What is Jesus’ reply to you?
THURSDAY: John 6:6: Jesus already knew how food was going to be provided for this crowd of people. This was to be an object lesson. For the disciples. For the people in attendance. For you and me. Could there be something seemingly “impossible” in your life that God is intending to use as an object lesson? Are you open to considering that and even being grateful for that? Are you receptive to letting Jesus work in your life and in your circumstances? How can you pray for what seems too big for God to handle that is going on in your life? What might you do differently today and this week because you believe God can make a way? Is there something you sense God inviting you to do - or perhaps to stop doing?
FRIDAY: Luke 9:13. The apostles tell Jesus “we have ONLY five loaves of bread and two fish.” Is there something in your life that seems too little for God to work with? How can you pray about that today and in the days to come? What might it look like to leave this concern at the foot of the cross? Perhaps it would be helpful to even have some sort of “ceremony” leaving the prayer items - too big or “not enough” - at the foot of some cross you may have in your home or your garden? Many people find it helpful to write on pieces of paper and physically place them at the foot of a cross. This is a type of “embodiment" prayer exercise. Others find it helpful to place the slip of paper in an envelope that says “Jesus” on the outside, then place that envelope in a larger envelope that says “God.” That way, you have a visual of turning something over to Jesus who is in God.
SATURDAY: Luke 9:14-17: Notice that Jesus gave thanks for the LITTLE he had been given: the five loaves and two fish. How can you give thanks and practice gratefulness today? How can you specifically give thanks for the things in your life that seem like “too little” or “not enough” right now? Could God have in mind some type of object lesson for you? Are you willing to grow and learn with Him at your side?