Today we are reading the famous “Jesus Feeds Five Thousand” story, and we also get a quick mention of the walking on water incident from John.  Knowing what is ahead in tomorrow’s reading, I feel that I clearly see a point that John is trying to make in this section...Jesus is really setting the disciples up for a test.  He isn’t baiting them into anything in a negative way, but He is giving them every reason He can to get them to really buy into what He is teaching, and Who He is.   I won’t spoil it, but for the sake of the discussion today, tomorrow’s reading is where Jesus teaches the truth of what His identity means, and that following Him means sacrifice and change...it isn’t all sunshine and rainbows and miracles that help you with your day...in other words, Jesus isn’t a “prosperity God”.  Jesus is about the drop the hammer on them, so He is trying to get them ready.

It makes me think...I wonder if God does this with me?  I wonder if God provides and blesses and does miracles in my life partly because He knows that there will be times where He needs to let me work through something a little more ‘by myself’?  Of course, He never ‘leaves me’, it is just that there are seasons of life where God is a little less tangible, and those are the seasons where my faith is stretched, challenged, and subsequently grown.  It seems like this is kind of a microcosm of that kind of interaction, with Jesus doing the same thing with the disciples.

For today, I am going to take some time and reflect on how blessed I am; on how God has shown up in my life; on how I am certainly not alone and without God.  I am going to finish my journal entry and go into 10 minutes of silence, with a cup of coffee, and just sit and list blessings in my life.  I want this to be a time when God becomes really evident to me, really obvious, and where I can be sure I am truly prepared and aware of His presence and blessing.  I never know when another season of testing might come, but I want to be prepared, and I also know it is always a great idea to reflect on how wonderful God is anyways!