Mark 6:37

Jesus said, “You feed them.” “With what?” they asked. “We’d have to work for months to earn enough money to buy food for all these people!”

The feeding of the 5,000 was a spectacular miracle, but Jesus didn’t rush into performing it. First of all, he challenged the disciples with a blunt command: “You feed them.” Just imagine how they would’ve felt! Suddenly, they had to come up with an answer. They started thinking through the implications and quickly worked out that they would need to work for a long time to earn enough to feed such a huge crowd. They were firmly convinced that Jesus’ challenge was completely impossible.

The problem with the disciples was that they were thinking in purely human terms. Jesus was trying to help them think beyond the normal limitations of life. Their response was entirely reasonable, but the snag with it was that it didn’t take account of God. It left no room for miracles. As disciples of Jesus, they needed to stop thinking in purely practical terms and start seeing things from God’s perspective. The miraculous feeding of the 5,000 must have been a major moment in their development as disciples. They had to start thinking in completely new ways.

I have spent a large slice of my life in church leadership meetings. In every single meeting, we have had to make decisions, and often we have had to face very challenging situations. I believe that God wants us to make good plans and think carefully through the implications of all our actions, but at the same time we always need to be listening for the voice of God, who will often call us to do things which don’t make any human sense. God is still the God of miracles, and he calls us to see things from his point of view and to never forget his amazing generosity and miraculous power.

Question

In what situations are you looking for God to do a miracle at the moment?

Prayer

Loving God, forgive me for those times when I only think in a human way. Help me to always remember that you are a God of miracles. Amen