Give Them Something To Eat

"Give them some food yourselves." - Mark 6:37

As thousands gathered around Jesus and the apostles, it soon became obvious that the people were hungry. Not thinking of anything they could do themselves, the apostles turned to Jesus looking for an answer. His reply, on the surface seeming very dry but underneath full of substance was, "give them some food yourselves." How were they going to feed so many people? How could Jesus put that in their hands?

However, each and every person that day was filled and food was left over. The apostles handed out loaves of bread and fish while Jesus looked on. What does this tell us? It tells us that we are fully capable of helping anyone who is in need. Sometimes we might feel powerless when someone loses their job, or a loved one dies tragically, or was diagnosed with a horrible disease. Sometimes we don't even know what to say to them, much less do anything to make it better. But the point of this story is that you can do a lot. The apostles ran to Jesus, expecting Him to do the work, but Jesus turned it right back around on them, showing them they were capable. The apostles handed out the food, they did the work, but at the end of the day, it was the Lord who made it happen. We need to allow God to work in our lives in this way. God won't make it literally rain down what we need from Heaven but He gave us hands and feet to do the work for Him while He arranges things. We have to be open to letting Him work and when we are, these are the times that the biggest miracles happen… not only fulfilling every need, but going way beyond the necessary. Therefore, the next time the Lord puts someone in your path and tells you "give them some food yourselves," whether it be food, money, clothes, a ride to work, or just a ear to listen, you will be able to feed them in the name of Christ.

Today's Prayer:
Lord Jesus, in the same way You empowered Your apostles to feed Your people, allow me to help others. Give me the skills and most importantly the faith to carry out the work You want me to do. In Your Name we pray, amen.