Focus

Stop and thank God for being present with you today. Ask for God’s guidance as you hear God’s voice through scripture and the writer.

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Read

Matthew 14:13-21 (NRSV)

Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a deserted place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. When he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them and cured their sick. When it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a deserted place, and the hour is now late; send the crowds away so that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” Jesus said to them, “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.” They replied, “We have nothing here but five loaves and two fish.” And he said, “Bring them here to me.” Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. And all ate and were filled; and they took up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve baskets full. And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.

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Reflect

As a child in Sunday school, I remember lessons of Jesus feeding the 5000 and the visualization of a boy offering his lunch of bread and fish for Jesus to bless in order to feed the crowd. (The story of the boy offering his lunch is included only in the Gospel of John, but due to the similarity of the stories, they are often intermingled.) To my young mind, this story represented a great miracle of how Jesus could feed people and always take care of us.

Over the years, however, my understanding of this miracle has deepened—especially in relation to the actions of the disciples. These men spent their days and nights with Jesus. They heard his teachings and witnessed his actions on a daily basis, yet they still felt the need to provide input and question Jesus’ directives. They pointed out to Jesus that evening was approaching and suggested that it was time for the people to go home in order to eat because they had “nothing here but five loaves and two fish.” Even as the closest followers of Jesus, they were still confined by human understanding.

How often do we try to suggest how God should provide for us? Do we fail to seek God in total faith, knowing that God’s provision is beyond our limited human understanding? Are we trying to manipulate how God works in our lives? May we remember that God is all-knowing and can be depended on in all circumstances.

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Pray

God of miracles, open my heart and mind to live in faith. Strengthen my understanding of you as my ultimate provider. Help me to remember that through you all things are possible—not just the things that I can imagine, for I know that your plan is always greater that what I can imagine. Amen.

Go with God.