He replied, “You give them something to eat.”
They answered, “We have only five loaves of bread and two fish—unless we go and buy food for all this crowd.”
(Luke 9:13 NIV)
Very familiar passage here, right? It's one of the more notable miracles Christ performed while He walked the earth. There were only two fish and five loaves of bread, but Christ multiplied it to feed over five thousand men (excluding woman and children). There were even 12 baskets of leftovers remaining after the feast.
But when I read this passage this time, Christ's statement is what stood out to me. He said, "You give them something to eat." I cocked my head to the side while reading that statement. I've read it before, but I suppose I glanced over that part or didn't dwell on it. However, I'm trying to understand and know Christ and His essence more, so I am being more attentive to His words and what He meant by them.
Obviously, the disciples couldn't feed the five thousand plus people with the minuscule amount of food they had in their possession. Christ knew they didn't have that much food in their repertoire. So, why would He say to them "You give them something to eat"?
And honestly, I'm still asking that God makes this statement from Him abundantly clear to me if I am missing the mark. But what I've gathered from it thus far is that Christ did use what the disciples had to feed the crowd. He didn't rain down manna from heaven. He used what was in their possession.
It's similar to the account of the widow in 2 Kings 4, who foresaw her and her son's death because she'd ran out of money and didn't have any more food. Her plan was to make one more meal and die. But the Prophet Elisha told her to go get empty jars. A lot of empty jars. He told her that as she poured the oil into the jars, the oil would keep flowing.
And just as Elisha said, it was so. A little was turned into a lot. More than enough. The widow was able to sell the oil and pay off all her debts. She even had money left over to live off of... just like the disciples had 12 baskets leftover from the buffet.
But neither one of these miracles would've taken place if the little wasn't first given. Reader, whatever it is that you have in your possession, give it to God. Give Him your time, your gifts, your praises, your attention. You may not think it's enough. Like the widow, you may be ready to throw in the towel.
But that honestly wouldn't make good sense. Because God never needed a lot to do anything. The fact is that we only count these accounts as miracles because a little was turned into a lot. You wouldn't give God the complete honor and praise if you already had everything in your possession.
The praise comes in when you clearly don't have it, but God makes it so that you do have it. That's when you can shout for joy because God turned it. That's when you can testify because it was nobody but God!
So, when God tells you to do what seems to be the impossible, when He says "You feed them" but you only have two fish and five loaves, that's when you ought to laugh. That's when you have to know, God is about to multiply. That's when you can sit in watch in expectancy. Because why else would He ask you to do the impossible, unless He was about to make it possible?
"You feed them" is a challenge to your faith. It's questioning if you really believe God can do what you can't. That He can fill in every crack and crevice that you can't. What will it be? Will you hand God your two fish and five loaves? Will you go get empty jars when you have next to no oil left?
I've nothing else to say, reader. I'll let this article dwell on me as it prayerfully dwells on you. 'Til next time, have a wonderful day and week. Take care.
Quin Arrington's debut book "And Then You Shall Have Good Success: Attaining Good Success God's Way" is available on Amazon in paperback and eBook format. Links listed below: