From the desk of Pastor Ben

The Apostle’s Dull Perspective

But Jesus said to them, “They do not need to go away; you give them something to eat!” They said to Him, “We have here only five loaves and two fish.”
                        (Matthew 14:16-17)

Earlier on this day, Jesus had brought up the matter of feeding the large crowd (John 6:5-6), and the subject proved to be a test of faith for the apostles. Would they look to Christ to meet this tremendous need, or would they trust in earthly resources (see vs. 7-9).
From our contemporary vantage point, with the benefit of hindsight, it’s difficult to understand why the concept of Jesus’ feeding the people miraculously did not sooner enter the apostles’ minds. It would not have required that much faith for them to have expected Jesus to feed the multitude. But instead, they saw no further than their own meager resources: “We have here only five loaves and two fish.” The apostles’ outlook was much like someone standing near Niagara Falls and asking where he could find some water to use. They were face-to-face with God incarnate and yet were spiritually blind to what He could do.
We might be tempted to presume that, had we been there with Jesus and the crowd, we would have automatically asked Him to use His powers to feed the people. That would hardly have been a challenge for Him who created the universe, walked on water, calmed the storm, and healed hundreds of people, even raising some from the dead. But how many times have believers today, including us, faced a seemingly insurmountable crisis and looked to ourselves first rather than exercising faith and looking to God for the solution?

Ask Yourself:
What are the reasons behind our frequent reluctance to look first to God and His provision? Is it fear that He won’t come through? Is it doubt that He is able? Is it laziness, an unwillingness to persevere in prayer? Whatever it is, it’s keeping us from resting fully in His care.