“When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Phil-ip, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do”. John 6 v 5-6
Are you facing an impossible situation today?
If so, do you consider your obstacles in light of the power Jesus has placed within you through his Spirit? I believe everyday Jesus is inviting us to go on a journey with him, to start to believe that He will find a way through. Can we allow ourselves to dream with the Lord and imagine new and exciting outcomes? Can we take what it is in our hands and expect it to be multiplied beyond anything we can imagine? Jesus looks at the crowd and asked his disciples a question: How are we going to feed all these people?
Now, was he actually expecting them to come up with a solution themselves? No.
He was setting them up, He was asking them to expand their minds, He was testing them. Jesus wanted to push them past their natural limitations and get them to see things from a heavenly perspective. They looked and they were overwhelmed. They saw the issue and the impossibility Jesus looked and saw the potential and the opportunity. He saw the supply. I believe that Jesus has a great sense of humour. I think he loved putting his disciples into a tight spot because he was then able to surprise them with his unmerited favour! He loved to show up in what people thought was going to be a disaster and reveal to them that he had already got it all sorted. He had gone before them! He had made a way! Jesus spent his time on earth expanding people’s mind to the reality of his kingdom.
Andrew dares to believe, and he brings forward the boy with the packed lunch. Everyone sits down and Jesus takes the food, gives thanks and it is multiplied. 5,000 men plus women and children are fed and 12 baskets left over. Everyone is satisfied and there is more than enough. What looked like a huge, insurmountable problem became an opportunity for God to reveal His glory. Jesus had satisfied their physical hunger. But there is a much deeper hunger in every man and woman. A greater need that God has placed in all of us to be fed. A need that only he can meet. These people were hungry. They wanted to receive spiritual food. Food that satisfied the deepest longings and desires of our hearts. That is why Jesus reveals himself in this next discourse as the bread of life.
Meditate on that this week. Chew on it. Digest it. Allow your mind to think about what that means for you. He is your life source. He is your sustenance. Every need that you have he comes to meet with his abundant supply. He wants to step into your impossible situation and show you his heavenly provision. .
Trust him today, take him at his word and allow him to be the answer to your deepest needs.
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Who Do You Say I Am Series – Exchange Church Belfast 2020