Alright y’all I’m throwing it back to about 2 1/2 months ago when I was in Chitwan, Nepal. I shared a super short sermon at our very first home visit there. I left this family with tears in my eyes and I had absolutely no idea why. That’s a little backstory to this blog. Now I’m going to share what I shared with them, because it recently convicted me.
“And the disciples said to him, ‘Where are we to get enough bread in such a desolate place to feed so great a crowd?’.”(Matt. 15:33)
WAIT WHAT?!?!? Backtrack about 50 verses ago when Jesus fed over 5,000 people with just 5 loaves of bread and two fish! The disciples were all there to witness this miracle. They were doubtful then and I’ll give them slack because from what’s recorded in Scripture, they hadn’t seen Jesus multiply food before.
But now, they have no excuse, in my eyes. As we keep reading, verse 34 tells us that they had 7 loaves of bread and a few fish, which was more food than last time. Verse 38 informs us that there were 4,000 men, which was less people than last time.
Just to clarify if you’re not following, the disciples doubted that Jesus could provide food for this crowd even though they had just seen him miraculously do it for a crown BIGGER in size and with LESS food.
So what’s their deal? Did they forget what God has just done? Did they remember, but not believe that He was able to do it again?
I took two things from these verses:
1. Jesus is so incredibly gracious! I immediately wanted to slap some sense into the disciples when reading this, but Jesus did not even mention how insane their disbelief was. Instead, He had a similar conversation with them as the first time and then invited them to join in the miracle working with Him by distributing the food.
2. A lesson we can learn from the disciples: we need to remember all that the Lord has done and have faith that he can and will continue to work in our lives. We should be ENCOURAGED when we meet trials because we know that we serve a faithful and powerful God who has proved His provision in our lives many times.
If you can’t remember when God provided, was faithful or proved His goodness, then I recommend to take some more time looking back on your years! If you’re really struggling to come up with anything, then remember the cross.
Why is it so hard for us to remember and have faith? I’m speaking from experience here. I was convicted of this because it’s something that I’ve caught myself not walking out in the big and small things, as if God hasn’t been faithful in my weaknesses or proved Himself powerful enough to me.
Also, I’ve realized that God’s faithfulness has been a constant theme of learning these past 6 months and I’m loving it guys! HE IS SO FAITHFUL!!!!
I encourage you to always remember the goodness of the Lord. When you meet hardships, remember that you serve a miracle-working God. When you can’t see a way out, remember the many doors He’s opened and walls He’s torn down in the past. And when He doesn’t answer your prayers the way you desired, remember that He is still good!
With love,
Mykayla
