Can you imagine the scene? Jesus just learning of the death of His cousin, John the Baptist, resting and most likely praying in the hill country of Golan Heights. The weight of His loss could not compare with His compassion for His people as He looked up and saw the large crowd.
The first thought Jesus has about this crowd is not, “Why are they here, don’t they know that I am in morning!” Jesus’ first thought is compassion and He moves in healing and teaching. In the midst of His healing and teaching, He notices that the hunger within the people is something beyond what they could provide for themselves.
Have you ever been in that position? Place yourself on the hillside, surrounded by 15,000 – 20,000 others who are just as in need as you are. What were their conversations like? What is your narrative when you are in need? For them, their need was so common, their daily hunger was unrelenting and their desire for Jesus was growing as well. Have you been there? Maybe, like me, you have said, “God my need today is greater than I can bear, and stronger than I could ever imagine.” It is in that moment that God provides beyond our wildest dreams.
Jesus asks Philip, who was originally from that area, “Where will we buy bread for these people to eat?” Philip responds that they could work for almost a year and still not have enough money. Notice Philip’s response was about the money, Jesus’ question was about the bread. Jesus asked a question to test Philip. The testing of the Lord, much like a teacher, is a testing that asks us to apply previously learned information. However, it is even deeper than that, the tests of God remind us to bring Supernatural truths into our current circumstances. What truth of God needs to be brought into your current realities? “With God on our side, how can we lose?” – Romans 8:31 (MSG)
This reminds me of something…
For me, this moment reminds me of what I felt in my college years. I had recently given my life to Jesus and responded to the call that He placed on my life and yet I found myself lacking the resources to secure housing, therefore I was going to school while living in my car. It was one of the most difficult and humbling experiences of my life. It was in my car that I read the quote of a strong woman of God who survived Nazi Germany.
She would write, “You may never know that Jesus is all you need, until Jesus is all you have.” – Corrie Ten Boom.
Thinking of this quote, I continued to read and then opened God’s word and read, “Lord, you are my portion and my cup of blessing, you hold my future.” – Psalm 16:5 (CSB)
This is the confidence that we have as we face any situation in our lives, The Lord holds our future. Your present may seem uncertain, insecure, and even discouraging, don’t forget who holds your future. It is in the moment of desperation that God asks us, “Will you trust me?” I have learned, first-hand, Jesus can be trusted!
Jesus provides for us, miraculously.
Just as the thousands of people on the hill were provided for, Jesus provides for us. It is not simply that Jesus provided for those families in John 6, it is how Jesus provided for them. There was a boy! A young boy who had a sack lunch, was close enough to Jesus to be part of the miracle. What if you and I could get close enough to Jesus not only to experience the miraculous but to be part of the miraculous.
We serve a miracle working God and throughout the Bible we find that the miraculous most often happens when the people of God are submitted to the ways of God. We can either be broken from our circumstances, or be strengthened by the God who holds our future. Today I choose strength. Today, I choose Jesus. Today, I choose to be close enough to Jesus to experience the miraculous. What about you? You may never know Jesus is all you need, until Jesus is all you have. He is all I have, and in Him I have more than enough.
February 23, 2024
