Even if you are a casual reader of the bible, most people have probably read or heard the story of Jesus feeding the 5,000 with 5 loaves of bread and two fish. But what is important for us to take away from this message and miracle is that
Miracles Begin With Recognition
By this time it was late in the day, so his disciples came to him. “This is a remote place,” they said, “and it’s already very late. Send the people away so that they can go to the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.”
But he answered, “You give them something to eat.”
They said to him, “That would take more than half a year’s wages! Are we to go and spend that much on bread and give it to them to eat?”
“How many loaves do you have?” he asked. “Go and see.”
When they found out, they said, “Five—and two fish.”
Jesus used this as a teaching moment for his apostles and asked “What do you have?”
Miracles always begin with recognition of what you have. If you don’t recognize what you have, you can never multiply what you don’t recognize.
What is interesting about this story is that 5,000 men are mentioned but if you include the women and children there were probably closer to 15,000.
We don’t know from the passage in Mark but if you read John 6:8-9 We see there is a small boy with the bread and fish.
Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up, “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?”
The one that wasn’t counted, the “child” is the one with the miracle. Isn’t it truly amazing how God always uses people that other people don’t count. This is why you must read my message God Does the Unexpected. The disciples were so busy counting those they thought were significant, that they didn’t count the very one God moved into position to release a blessing of such importance.
The same goes for the Prophet Samuel. He was busy counting Jesse’s son’s that were present that he discarded the youngest insignificant person David whom God lifted up.
Jesus says “go back and see. The miracle wasn’t in what they had counted. God always uses something that wasn’t counted to produce the miracle.
The best miracles in your life take time. Can’t be driven by hunger, need or necessity. Sometimes we must get our life structured and in order so we can receive the magnitude of what God has for you.
Just because you have a driving need does not mean that you can dispurse with the time, structure or order that is necessary for the weight of what God is about to do. Some people are so busy trying to get what God has that they don’t provide the structure to sustain what is given.
Jesus blessed something that was not enough. Until you can be thankful for what you have that is not enough, then what you have can not be multiplied for what is more than enough.
God never just gives you enough. He always gives an abundance.
