Posts
Sunday, September 23
You’re excited, filled with praise and thanksgiving. Why?
Because God miraculously answered your prayer for some sudden situation. He
remedied it, fixing your emergency. And now, you feel full and satisfied, just like
the disciples.
A great crowd gathers in a fishing
village on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. Thousands
of people cover the grassy valley. Moved with great compassion for them, Jesus
heals the sick and teaches them about the kingdom of God.
The day is about to shut its door; the
sun begins its descent. The people are hungry. How are the disciples to feed
all these people? Something needs to be done.
With the meager offering of five loaves
and two fishes of a young boy, the Lord takes it and provides an answer by
multiplying it. The disciples witness the miraculous feeding of a multitude.
They all eat and are satisfied.
Not wanting anything to go to waste,
Jesus tells the disciples to gather up the fragments.
They fill twelve baskets with leftovers.
Immediately, Jesus sends the disciples out
in a boat while He sends the people away and He goes up the hill to pray.
But wait! What’s that appearing just over the hill? A storm
is churning and it’s headed your way. You’re stuck out in the middle of roiling
waters in a little dingy. Your life-boat begins to rock as the waves of
circumstance crash over you. Your heart is overwhelmed, just like the
disciples.
As the sun slips down into its western
bed for the night, it leaves a trail of shimmering gold across the sea. The
disciples row for several hours in the dark.
Springing out from behind the hills is
one of those quick and brutal storms that develop at the snap of the fingers on
the Sea of Galilee.
From His place on the hill, Jesus sees
the men at sea. Shards of lightning flash against the black of night, silhouetting
the disciple crew as they fight to row the canting vessel against the surging
waves and hostile wind.
In the light of one lightning shaft, another
silhouette appears. The men scream in terror, supposing they see the ghost of a
dead one spewed up by the sea.
“It is I! Don’t be afraid!” calls Jesus
across the growl of the squall, climbing into the boat with them as the storm calms.
In your storm, do you cry out to God in terror? Do you
quickly forget what God has done for you in the past and you harden your heart
as the disciples did?
The disciples fail to understand the
meaning of the miracle of the loaves. Lacking insight into its significance
hardens their hearts that Jesus has the power to do whatever they need.
With the smell of the fish still
clinging to their fingertips and the bread crumbs still resting in the folds of
their garments, they do not remember how those things got there. The bread
merely filled their stomachs.
Even though they take the baskets of
leftover bread with them into the boat, they do not take the Bread of Life with
them into their hearts.
The next time a storm blows into your life, don’t let your
heart harden.
*Remember to welcome Him into your boat of circumstance; He
will bring the calm.
*Remember the miracle of The Bread of Life was broken and
multiplied to overflow in leftovers just for you.
*Remember the aroma on your fingertips for your last answer
to prayer.
*Remember to take the Bread with you to rest in the folds of
your heart.
“Take, eat; this is My body which is broken
for you;
do this in
remembrance of Me.”
1 Cor. 11:24 NKJV
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