MIDWEEK MEDITATION

Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up,9 “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?”

Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” There was plenty of grass in that place, and they sat down (about five thousand men were there). 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.

John 6:8-13

It was an overwhelming problem. 

You could hardly count the people who were surrounding Jesus. They had come a long way, they were hungry, and they were in the middle of nowhere. Jesus looked at those people, at that overwhelming problem, and He had compassion on them. 

“Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?”

The question left the disciples dumbfounded. Could Jesus actually expect them to find a solution? They simply didn’t have the resources to even make a dent in the problem. 

Jesus knew that.
 
He was testing them. Jesus wanted them to come face to face with the reality that it didn’t really matter what they had. It mattered who they gave it to. Jesus can take whatever meager offerings we have and multiply it. Too often we step back from the overwhelming problems Jesus asks us to step into because we feel that we simply don’t have enough in and of ourselves. It is a hard and exhilarating lesson to learn that Jesus doesn’t need us, but when we offer in faith what we have, He can use us to be a part of something amazing.

Father, give me the humility to realize that you don’t need me, along with the faith to believe that you can use me.