Rely, And Let God Multiply

The Gospel of St. Luke 9:10-17

How awesome are miracles?? Whether it’s as big as raising someone from the dead, or as small as “I can’t believe it’s not butter”, there’s just something about miracles that gives us the “But how?!?!” factor. With that said, the Feeding of the Five Thousand has to be hands down one of my favorite miracles of all time. The reason why I love this miracle so much is because it makes me realize just how weak my faith is. When I am encountered with a problem, whether it’d be at work, church, home, etc., I rely on my intellect, and my intellect alone to help me solve those problems. I use my resources to aid me in the process; I think things through, strategize, and come up with as many possible solutions as I can.

I don’t think I’ve ever gone to God first to help me with a problem I’m faced with. In fact, I’m not sure if a lot of us do. Our first thought is, what can“I” do? How do “I” go about this? How do “I” solve this? Don’t beat yourself up over it though, because in this passage, we see the Apostles doing the same thing. Rather than going to Jesus first, they relied on their own intellect.

What was the problem? Jesus tells the Apostles to give the multitude of approximately five thousand men, something to eat. They have no money and were only able to obtain a measly five loaves of bread and two fish. At most, the five loaves and two fish were only good for about four to five people! There was no possible way all of these men could be fed with just a limited amount of food.

Realizing they can’t do much of anything else, the Apostles go to Jesus, and in turn, Jesus completely handles the situation. He has the Apostles seat the multitude in groups of fifty, blesses the food, and then has them distribute the food. And there you have it, a seemingly impossible situation turned possible through Christ alone. He took what little He had, and multiplied it to the point where all were satisfied.

All of the wonderful miracles that Jesus performs are meant to show His power, compassion for His children, and to teach us a lesson.

Here, we can take away two lessons from this miracle. First, always rely on God and not on your own intellect. What we think might be right, may not be. Our minds are so limited compared to the power of God. So, when encountering a situation where you just don’t know what to do, always seek His guidance and wisdom first.

“Trust in God with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding” – Proverbs 3:5.

Another lesson we can take away is that when we give what we have to God, He can take it, bless it, and multiply it! Even if we have a little bit to offer, that little becomes far greater when placed in the Hands of Jesus. Think about how much God can do with us if we offer ourselves to Him! You may think of yourself to be worth just a loaf of bread, or a piece of fish…..but remember, you can help feed thousands and thousands of people spiritually, that is, if you let God
do so.

Let everything you do, be done in love and for the Glory of God!

Questions for Meditation

1) If you were in the Apostles’position, would you have handled the situation differently? Why or why not?

2) What have you given God, where He took that very thing, and turned it into a blessing for others?

Author’s Information:

Name: Bobby Varghese

Area: Brooklyn/ Queens/ Long Island

Email Address: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it