40 Days of Praise - Day 29
Day 29
They said to him, “We have only five loaves here and two fish.” And he said, “Bring them here to me.”
Matthew 14:17–18
Few things are as disheartening as taking honest stock of yourself in your situation, and realizing that what you have is inadequate for what you need to do. No matter how you slice it, no matter how carefully you steward what you have, it’s just not going to work.
Not every situation is like that. We face challenges that stretch us, that require that we think outside the box, that force us to tap into capabilities that we weren’t convinced that we had. There are even times in life when we come to the realization that we can’t accomplish the goal by ourselves and need to enlist the help of others. But those situations can have happy outcomes. We stretch to do something that we have never done before. We force ourselves to think in new ways about what we need to accomplish. We face our fears and attempt to do something that we had told ourselves we couldn’t do, only to find that it was within reach. Or we humble ourselves to recognize that if we enlist the help of others around us, we can get the job done.
The disciples had done all these things. They had just come back from a ministry tour, where Jesus had sent them to do what they had seen him do: heal the sick, raise the dead, preach the gospel, and deliver from demons. And, in His name, they had done all that.
But what Jesus had just told them to do -- feed a crowd of 5000 men plus women and children – was simply beyond them. They couldn’t come up with the money to buy the food. Even if they had the money, there was no place nearby to get that much food. And they had taken a survey of the crowd and found a total of five biscuits and two sardines. They were out of options and out of time.
They were right where Jesus wanted them to be; they were at the end of themselves. Jesus invited them to bring what they had to Him and trust Him to make up the difference, just as they had on their ministry tour.
Jesus took their inadequate best and multiplied it to accomplish his will, but He included them. He was not scolding them or shaming them. He was growing their faith in what He could to do in and through them.
When young child wants to help a parent with some task being done around the house, the parent knows that they could accomplish the task more quickly by themselves. But because they want their child to grow into all that they can be as an adult, they have the child help them. And in the process they teach the child to be a little more like them.
We are created in the image and likeness of God. Because we were tainted by sin at the beginning of our race, we have no idea of the capabilities that God has placed in us and how He wants to partner with us. Jesus came not only to save us from our sin, but to reconcile us to God and restore us to God’s purpose for us.
When we reach the end of our adequacy, it is then that, in His grace, He takes what we bring to Him and shows us what can be accomplished with Him. He is preparing us for eternity, where we, the unworthy and inadequate, will reign with Him
O what a Savior!
Isn't He wonderful?
Sing Hallelujah,
Christ is risen
Bow down before Him
For He is Lord of all
Sing Hallelujah
Christ is Risen
Charles M. Butler
They said to him, “We have only five loaves here and two fish.” And he said, “Bring them here to me.”
Matthew 14:17–18
Few things are as disheartening as taking honest stock of yourself in your situation, and realizing that what you have is inadequate for what you need to do. No matter how you slice it, no matter how carefully you steward what you have, it’s just not going to work.
Not every situation is like that. We face challenges that stretch us, that require that we think outside the box, that force us to tap into capabilities that we weren’t convinced that we had. There are even times in life when we come to the realization that we can’t accomplish the goal by ourselves and need to enlist the help of others. But those situations can have happy outcomes. We stretch to do something that we have never done before. We force ourselves to think in new ways about what we need to accomplish. We face our fears and attempt to do something that we had told ourselves we couldn’t do, only to find that it was within reach. Or we humble ourselves to recognize that if we enlist the help of others around us, we can get the job done.
The disciples had done all these things. They had just come back from a ministry tour, where Jesus had sent them to do what they had seen him do: heal the sick, raise the dead, preach the gospel, and deliver from demons. And, in His name, they had done all that.
But what Jesus had just told them to do -- feed a crowd of 5000 men plus women and children – was simply beyond them. They couldn’t come up with the money to buy the food. Even if they had the money, there was no place nearby to get that much food. And they had taken a survey of the crowd and found a total of five biscuits and two sardines. They were out of options and out of time.
They were right where Jesus wanted them to be; they were at the end of themselves. Jesus invited them to bring what they had to Him and trust Him to make up the difference, just as they had on their ministry tour.
Jesus took their inadequate best and multiplied it to accomplish his will, but He included them. He was not scolding them or shaming them. He was growing their faith in what He could to do in and through them.
When young child wants to help a parent with some task being done around the house, the parent knows that they could accomplish the task more quickly by themselves. But because they want their child to grow into all that they can be as an adult, they have the child help them. And in the process they teach the child to be a little more like them.
We are created in the image and likeness of God. Because we were tainted by sin at the beginning of our race, we have no idea of the capabilities that God has placed in us and how He wants to partner with us. Jesus came not only to save us from our sin, but to reconcile us to God and restore us to God’s purpose for us.
When we reach the end of our adequacy, it is then that, in His grace, He takes what we bring to Him and shows us what can be accomplished with Him. He is preparing us for eternity, where we, the unworthy and inadequate, will reign with Him
O what a Savior!
Isn't He wonderful?
Sing Hallelujah,
Christ is risen
Bow down before Him
For He is Lord of all
Sing Hallelujah
Christ is Risen
Charles M. Butler
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