God can do much with little

Jesus’ miracle of the feeding the 5000 (John 6:1-15) is the one miracle, other than His resurrection, that is recorded in all four gospels. All Jesus’ miracles are special, but no doubt this one made a huge impression on all four of the gospel writers. There are many life-changing truths in this amazing narrative! We spent some time Sunday examining this miracle and some inspirational take-aways (click here to listen to the teaching).

This miracle, taking five small loaves of bread and two small fish to feed 5000 men (but closer to 20,000 total) sets up the truth that Jesus is the Bread of Life! The next day, Jesus would make clear to those who were looking for another miracle from Him... “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty." John 6:35. The inverse is also true; that without Jesus you will never be satisfied, never be fulfilled, never experience life. Jesus wanted those who were following Him to know, and believe, that in Him they could have life, and you can too! Do you believe Jesus is that giver of life? Have you invited Him to be your Savior and Lord?

When Jesus saw the huge crowd, He asked Philip where they could find food for all these people. Why did Jesus ask Philip that question? 6 He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do. John 6:6. The truth is that sometimes God may put you in what appears to be an impossible situation or put an impossible task before you to see if you will respond with fear or with faith! Fear is an enemy of faith. (Matthew 8:26). Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. Hebrews 11:1. If and when you find yourself in an impossible situation, will you trust God to help you? Will you have confidence in Him?

Finally, with this miracle, Jesus taught us that He can do much with little. It is unimaginable to us that He could feed so many with such a small amount of food. The truth is that God can and will shatter your limited expectations. Maybe you are underestimating what He can do with your limited abilities, limited resources, limited talents. But little is much when God is involved! Are you willing to bring to God whatever you have to offer and allow Him to use it for His glory, to draw others to Him, to honor Him?