This summer series has been a blast to share with you! I’m honored to receive your notes each week and respond to you. Thank you for trusting me with your stories and your faith journeys with God. Speaking of your stories, Happy Monday reader Marilyn G’s inspiring “loaves & fishes” story is at the end of today’s devotion. 

 

If you’re just joining us, this series features biblical stories about trusting God’s provision in uncertain times. This week, we’re wrapping up the story of Jesus’ feeding the 5,000. You can read about the disciples’ scarcity mentality in last week’s Happy Monday by scrolling to the bottom of this email.

 

Now, let’s turn our attention to the crowd of people who showed up to hear Jesus teach. Today’s devotion demonstrates how to receive God’s provision. There’s a grumpy way to receive, but there’s also a gracious way.

 

Let’s look at how the crowd behaves and what we can learn – also, I’m sharing two important spiritual challenges in today’s devotion for you:

 

Join me back at the beginning of Mark 6 and notice the crowd’s attitude:

 

 

 

Buzz about Jesus spread from town to town. Can you picture the people who hustled ahead of Jesus to make sure they were there when he arrived. That would be like us showing up at church before the pastor arrives. Why would the people do that? There was an expectancy in the crowd. They showed up ready!  So, Jesus taught and other gospels record how Jesus healed the sick. But the people didn’t run off. They stayed.

 

One of my favorite quotes is: Many seek the hand of God, but few seek His face. For a long time in my Christian journey, my prayers tended to be focused on my grocery list of needs. I tended to treat God like Amazon Prime, expecting Him to answer quickly because I was waiting and becoming discouraged if He didn’t.

 

 

Back to the story: Even though Jesus healed the sick, the crowd stayed to listen. He provided hope for their daily lives under Roman oppression and hope for eternity. In the first week of the series, I reminded us that provision isn’t just tangible, but God provides wisdom, strength, courage, rest, peace, and hope. That’s what Jesus gave to the crowds that day – and often that’s what we need more than anything else, too.

 

However, there came a point when the people needed to eat. The disciples told Jesus to let the people figure out their food situation. There were no fast food restaurants for snacks or meals. There were no stadium chairs to sit in or canopies to find shade under. Here’s what Jesus said:

 

 

This was a curious detail for me. Jesus has two fish and five loaves. And a lot of people. The miracle hasn’t happened yet. Still, Jesus organizes the people before they receive. When you read groups think rows, not circles. In the original language, the term for groups referred to rows in an army formation. Why is this detail important? Otherwise, there may have been a mob of people on their feet, likely fighting their fellow Jews for food just after Jesus preached the gospel.

 

Jesus organized the people to graciously receive his provision. The same goes for us. If God promises to provide, then we do not need to scheme, compare, become pushy, or undercut others for God’s blessing. That’s the grumpy way! Remember, God’s not on a budget. If He promises to provide, His provision will reach you. Can I get an amen?

 

This sweet part of the story is worth bringing back again – here’s Mark 6:43:

 

 

Love it! In ancient times, food wasn’t as available as it is now. So, eating as much as they wanted was a tremendous blessing. The people departed full of the gospel and full of fish and bread.

 

But wait, there’s more! The disciples gathered up twelve baskets of leftovers. There was more left than what they started with. Look at God! As I reflect on that, I wonder if God aimed to drive home the reminder that He knew how to fill the likely crowd of 20,000 or more and still have leftovers?

 

 

While that may be a gross thought in our first-world modern culture, food was scarce back then, so those leftovers would be a blessing.

 

One more takeaway…The disciples collecting the leftovers could also be a reminder to be good stewards of God’s provision. Yes, we are to receive graciously, but also not waste or take God’s provision for granted.

 

CHALLENGE #2: Are there blessings that God has provided that you’ve allowed to go to waste, you’re not using, or you’re taking them for granted? Could this be a nudge for you to give away, sell, or donate those items so you can bless someone else, or, if you sell, repurpose God’s provision to another area of your life?