Friday
Read: Luke 9:1–17
SOAP: Luke 9:16–17
Then he took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven he gave thanks and broke them. He gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd. They all ate and were satisfied, and what was left over was picked up—twelve baskets full of broken pieces.
Devotion
Jesus’ twelve apostles witnessed Him perform many miracles. When Jesus sent them out, He gave them power and authority over demons and diseases and told them to proclaim the kingdom of God and heal the sick. The apostles returned and reported everything they had done. Luke doesn’t give us these details, but he does tell us that their mission caused quite a stir. Even Herod the tetrarch, who killed John the Baptist, wanted to know who Jesus was.
Later that day, a crowd had gathered and they were hungry. The disciples had just returned from going out and performing miracles with the authority of Christ, so Jesus told them, “You give them something to eat.”
When Jesus sent out the twelve, He instructed them not to bring anything with them: no extra clothes, no food, not even money. They were fully dependent on God and His provision for them. We can safely assume God provided all they needed on their journey—enough food and supplies for each of them each day. Whether that provision came through extraordinary or ordinary means, it was still God’s provision. And, on top of that provision, the apostles were healing the sick and performing miracles. They had faith in what Jesus could do through them.
As they stood in front of Jesus on the heels of these events, their faith wavered. They either didn’t believe they could do something so huge, or they deferred to Jesus to perform the miracle because He was there with them. Their lack of faith kept them from being fully used by God at that moment.
Yet, by His grace, Jesus didn’t allow the apostles’ fear or doubt to keep Him from showering His people with compassion. He still provided. He fed every person in the crowd, and His disciples were still part of blessing the people.
God can provide food for two people on a journey through ordinary means, or He can choose to feed five thousand people with five loaves and two fish. Every answer to prayer, no matter how insignificant we feel it is, is still the God of heaven bending down to care for His people. We do not need to worry about whether it might be hard or easy for God to answer our prayers. What is extraordinary for us is no big deal for Him, the Almighty One.