We continue from yesterday's meditation to examine the testing of the disciples by Jesus before He fed the five thousand with fish and bread. The One Who created all things (Colossians 1:16), God in the flesh, was standing before Philip, and the only faith he could muster was to believe God for a mouthful. God thinks about filling our stomachs. Here’s the text again:
5When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, "Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?" 6He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do. 7Philip answered him, "Eight months' wages would not buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!" 8Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, spoke up, 9"Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?" (John 6:5-9; emphasis added).
You would think that these men who had seen Jesus perform miracles of healing day after day could respond with words like, “Lord, amid this need, I don’t know how, but I know that you can and will meet the need.”
We are very much like them. But thank God for His grace. We all need God’s help at every stage of our lives; we are not meant to navigate life without the Lord. The unseen God is watching and shaping us through test after test to help us mature in His grace. With each new trial, we have the chance to grow spiritually and reach a new level of faith to overcome the next challenge. If we don’t, we end up going around the same mountain again, facing the same test, possibly in a different situation. We must never rely on our own strength because that only invites another testing challenge from the Father, Who is training all His children to overcome. Instead, we must turn to the hand of the Lord's grace for support and abandon any hope of sustaining ourselves with our own energies and abilities.
Next for the test was Andrew. It is possible that Andrew willingly took the test, as we do not read that Jesus asked him. How did Andrew find the boy with his packed lunch? It seems he went out searching and asking people about the food situation. Still, he brought him to Jesus with his packed lunch before spoiling the moment with his words, “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?” (v. 9). Andrew made his faith judgment without considering the One standing before him. Philip and Andrew could not see beyond their resources to Christ's power and provision. They both missed a chance to speak words of faith that would have pleased the Lord. The Lord longs to see faith in God expressed through words and actions. “And without faith it is impossible to please God” (Hebrews 11:6). Let us not miss such chances in our lives.
Today, each of us can reflect on the challenges we face, such as a lack of finances, energy, and opportunity. We should acknowledge our concerns and express them to the Lord. Tell the Lord that you are turning to Him as your loving Father. Be open, though, to see how God will provide the multiplication. Don't expect Him to drop resources from the sky; He usually uses work opportunities or friends. Also, don't wait at home for the multiplication; you might need to look around, like Andrew did. If he hadn't gone looking, there would have been nothing for Christ to multiply. Keith Thomas
This meditation is a shortened version of the in-depth study: Jesus Feeds Five Thousand.