The Miracle

The popular bible passage of Jesus feeding five thousand men (John 6:1-13) has been a teaching reference to miracles and the ability of God to provide for every of our needs and this is powerful. However, looking through the lines of that scripture closely I saw God has more in mind than the miracle and provision which He wants us to see. There is a miracle beyond feeding the people.

There was a huge crowd that followed Jesus just to listen to the master speak. When it was evening time the Lord knew the people must have been tired and needed to eat. His disciples had seen Him to be a spiritual provider alone, they had seen Him heal the sick but this never made them see Him to be above all situations.

He went ahead to ask Philip, one of His disciples: “where can we buy bread to feed all these people?” Jesus knew very well what was going to happen, He was only testing the disciples if they had come to the stature of believing Him for everything both physical and spiritual. Philip actually saw no hope in getting the people fed in the desert. “Even if we worked for months we wouldn’t have enough money to feed them!” was his response. Even though Philip knew Jesus, the son of God was with them, he couldn’t see that desert was under the master’s control. All that they needed was the source, but they concentrated more on the resources.

Jesus went further to another disciple asking the same question. This time it was Andrew. Andrew replied that there is a boy who has five loaves of bread and two fishes among them, he then ended his response with an unsure statement “But what good is that with this huge crowd?” Andrew too could not see that the presence of Jesus meant everything they could need.

Jesus was bringing the disciples to the place of seeing Him rather than the impossibility. The disciples would have done well to return the puzzle to Jesus just as prophet Ezekiel did when God asked him about the dry bones if they were going to live. Jeremiah returned the question back challenging the all sufficient power of God. Ezekiel told God He is the one who knows everything and an instruction followed that brought the miracle.

There are two levels of people from the parable. Those who feel they do not have what it takes and those who believe what they have is not worthy enough to fulfill the assignment ahead. The two set of persons are same because their concentration is not in God who can enable all things.

Perhaps God has granted you grace in a particular area however it is not yet matured to your mental conception of how you feel it should be. It is just as having the five loaves of bread and two fishes to feed five thousand people. You know you have the little ability, but feel it is not worthy compared to what is ahead. Each time you conceive the idea in your head, you measure it up with what you feel you have and not the Man who is with you placing the assignment ahead of you.

That gift you have that you think is still small compared to those who have gone ahead of you will never become big without taking a step of faith as Jesus did. He sat the people down in groups, returned the job back to the Father in heaven and all the needs was met. The little bread fed the multitude.

Friend, what is it you have been waiting for to become big before you do for God? You sense the Lord leading you to win a soul but you feel you don’t have enough of bible knowledge? Is it a career you sense God calling you into but you are waiting till you can have all it takes to start big? What is it you want to do but looks like the seeming impossible situation of feeding 5000 people with just five loaves of bread?  I beseech you to start now with the five loaves.

The miracle is not in the resources but the source. If Jesus is your source, that is a sure source.

In usage there is growth.

Be Innovated

Olufemi Ibitoye