How Many Loaves Do You Have?

Matthew 14
16 But Jesus said to them, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.”
17 And they said to Him, “We have here only five loaves and two fish.”
18 He said, “Bring them here to Me.”

• Jesus says “YOU give them”. What a command to receive. We can understand the disciples feeling perplexed. They didn’t have the resources to fulfil this order, they hadn’t come prepared to serve like this, it was so far beyond their capability. They had a desire to obey but the solution was outside of their control or comprehension! They were given a seemingly impossible task.
• Jesus did not set them up to fail. He did not leave them to their inability. No, this was a precious teaching moment between The Lord and His disciples. The lesson is the same as one in Matthew 8 when the disciples feared for their lives in the storm. They looked immediately to their earthly circumstance and their inability to save themselves. Now, once again, they are faced with the impossible and their immediate response is to despair over their fleshy situation. In both instances however they failed to realise all that they needed was already with them. Isn’t this so often the case with us too? Oh what peace we often forfeit, oh what needless pain we bear, all be because we do not realise, Jesus is already there!! Go to Him. He is SO MUCH MORE THAN ENOUGH! He is all and in all. He is the Father of abundance and He loves to bless His children to glorify His name!

Matthew 15
34 Jesus said to them, “How many loaves do you have?” And they said, “Seven, and a few little fish.”

• How many loaves do YOU have? Brother, sister, bring the little that you have to Jesus. It’s not enough, but HE IS!! Bring who you are, bring what you have, cast your rod before His feet, as Moses did, and do not underestimate the “exceedingly, abundantly more than you can ask or think” that The Lord will do. You may not see the results but what does that matter as you rejoice exceedingly in trusting your Father and walking in His will!
• Give it all to Jesus. Yield every part to Him! Oh the precious, wonderful joy of a yielded life! Oh the peace of a childlike trust in The Father. Oh the joy of obeying His Word and Spirit. Oh be faithful in the little that you have, be faithful in the little that you have been called to, for our God is most greatly glorified in the those little, insignificant, foolish things given to Him. Hallelujah!