Matthew 14:17-18

Matthew 14:17-18 ESVThey said to him, “We have only five loaves here and two fish.”And he said, “Bring them here to me.”

In the last post we saw that when the disciples suggested that Jesus send the crowd away to get food, that He responded that the disciples should feed them. It was a virtually impossible task. There were likely close to ten thousand people present. Procuring enough food to satisfy them was clearly beyond the disciple’s ability.

Expecting people to do the impossible is something that God regularly does. Turn the other cheek. Love your enemies. Forgive the unforgivable. God requires us to do the impossible all the time. He just does not expect us to do it by our own strength.

When given the impossible task, the disciples told Jesus that they only had enough food for one or two people, not thousands. They actually did the right thing, they just needed to do it in faith. When God tells us what He wants, offer Him all that we have and see what He wants to do with it.

While still in their hands, that small amount of food was woefully insufficient. When put in God’s hands however, it was more than enough. God did not even need their offering. He could have turned stones into bread, or rained manna down from heaven, or sent a huge flock of ravens to bring enough food for everybody. God just accepted their offering to allow them to participate in His miracle.

That pitiful offering that the disciples knew was not enough was exactly what God chose to use. When we offer God all that we have. Even if we know it is not enough, He can take it and turn it into something incredible.

Almighty Father, what I have I give to You. Take it and do what You will. Thank You for letting me be a part of what You are doing!