Begin with two minutes of stillness and silence before God.

I get so excited when I read what feels like a well-known passage of scripture and notice something new! Of course, it’s not new; it’s always been there. It’s just the first time this passage has stuck out to me, so I wanted to share it with you. 

I was reading the portion about Jesus feeding the five thousand when I was struck by the words in verses 15-16. Jesus and the disciples had been with the crowds of people all day. Here’s the part I’ve never paid attention to before now. In verse 15, the disciples come to Jesus to let Him know they are in a remote, desolate place. It’s time to pack it up and go home. Maybe they were thinking about their safety. Maybe they just realized they were far from the place they would be sleeping that night. Either way, I really identify with their words here. Hey, we’re tired. We’re in a strange place, and we’ve been with people all day. Please, can we go home? 

The disciples didn’t just stop there, though. They then proceed to ask Jesus if He can send the crowds away so they can get their own food! Haven’t we done enough, Jesus? Have you ever felt that way? I’ve been working all day, and I’m tired. I’m peopled out. Let these people figure it out on their own!

I don’t think I’ll ever forget what comes next now that I’ve paid attention to verse 16. The NIV says, “Jesus replied, ‘They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.’” I read a lot of emphasis on the word YOU. At this moment, Jesus didn’t care how long of a day they’d had. He cared that His people were fed physically so they could be fed spiritually. 

This made me think back a couple of weeks ago to Love Your Neighbor. Our campus headed out to several apartment complexes to share pizza and play games with families, so we could talk to them about Jesus and invite them to church. I see so many examples of that night at Love Your Neighbor in this passage. I was feeling all the same things the disciples felt about the crowd of people. I had worked all day. I was headed to what felt like some remote locations. Lining up food for multiple apartment complexes was no joke, and I found myself thinking, “Can’t these people find their own food?” Jesus wasn’t physically there to talk to me that night, but I definitely felt Him at multiple points along the way. It’s amazing what a little bit of food can do to open people up for conversation. When we offer people a chance to be fed physically, they’re usually a lot more open to spiritual conversations. Instead of turning people away when we feel like we have nothing left to give, we can look for opportunities to feed people. Jesus is at work in those moments.

Take two minutes to reflect in silence.

Reflection:

• When have you seen Jesus at work in an impossible situation? Write that down and share it with a friend this week.
• Make time to serve others this week. If this opens up an opportunity to talk about Jesus, be bold and share the gospel.