YOU Feed Them!

Matthew 14: 15-21

As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food.”

Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.”

“We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered.

“Bring them here to me,” he said. And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children.

Today during the 4-hour meeting that I had with the youth leadership department at work today, we opened up with the above passage where Jesus feeds the 5000. This has been a passage that I have read many times and studied a few times as well but today was a new take on it that I may have noticed before but with the work that I am doing now, it really stood out. So, first of all, we see that Jesus wants the people to be there when the disciples would rather them leave. So, how many times do we tell people to leave and for what reasons? Are we afraid of there being too many people attending a meeting or partnering with us that we would rather them leave than have to follow up with them all?

Jesus also told the disciples not to turn away the people, as I just stated but told them to feed them. The disciples must have been thinking “seriously Jesus, you want us to feed 5000 people when we have only 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish? Yeah, how is that going to happen, we can’t do that!” And the disciples would have been absolutely right with that, they couldn’t feed the 5000 people. However, they could feed the 5000 if they had the help from God to do so! How many times do we think that something is impossible and we try it on our own and fail? I know I have been guilty of that and I usually do fail or become tired. I have been trying to make this transition on my own and there have been times that I have put God aside and just went on with my day but God is wanting us to partner with Him and see what He can do.

So, the disciples had very few resources but they were on the look out for what could help them. The little boy that had the fish and bread was the one that made it possible to have food. The disciples saw him and allowed him to help them out. However, as I stated above, they couldn’t come close to feeding the 500 with the little bit of resources that they had. They were probably worried and afraid and didn’t know what to do but God did. So, they asked God to help them and He blessed them and honored their request. God was able to multiple the resources that the disciples had found to feed the 5000 people and have plenty left over. The disciples didn’t end up waiting for someone else to feed the people but they had to take action and feed them themselves, but with the help of God since this was something they were not capable of doing on their own. They needed a miracle.

So, how does this apply to my ministry and what it is that I am doing? Good question! This applies to my life right now in many ways. I have to raise some support and I have tried to do it on my own but I have few resources. I need to look to God and ask Him to bless me and multiple what I have. I also need to keep an eye open and be looking for resources since they can come at unexpected times. I need to broaden my networking and see what God will bring my way. I also need to be willing to do the work myself rather than waiting for someone else to do the work. This may be in regards to raising support, I can’t just wait for someone to say they will support me but I need to be making the request and doing the work to get people to support me. I also need to do the work at my placement site, even though meetings are not my thing and I would rather be busy, this is a necessary step in the process of the ministry and I need to do it. I need to look toward God and acknowledge Him in the work that I am doing or I won't accomplish anything. What areas of your life are your ignoring God and putting Him aside? What are you trying to do on your own but failing at doing or could improve at if you had God's support and presence? How is God asking YOU to "feed" the people and what does that look like?

So, some more questions for you as my readers, how can you apply the above passage to your life right now? What is God telling you to do rather than waiting for someone else to do it? (This could be going into ministry, it could be talking to someone, it could be to be there for someone and listen to them, it could mean being the last person at an even and broaden your network, etc) And lastly, I will make the ask, if you feel led to do so, would you consider financially supporting me and the ministry that I am apart of? If you are willing to support me in any amount, I have an advance (financial support) tab above that you can go to and learn about how you are able to financially support me or you can message me and I would be glad to help you out.

Thanks for reading and may God bless you all!