Thoughts for the week - Pastor Larry Quinnell

 Hello Church!

 If you go to Israel today, you will see the geography of the land much as like it was when Jesus walked, though there are the obvious signs of a more modern society. On the northeast corner of the Sea of Galilee, there is a church that commemorates the story of the multiplication of the fish and loaves of bread. One of those stories is in Mark’s gospel, chapter 8, from verses 1 through 5; In those days, when there was again a large crowd and they had nothing to eat, Jesus called His disciples and said to them, 2 "I feel compassion for the people because they have remained with Me now three days and have nothing to eat.  3 "If I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way; and some of them have come from a great distance."  4 And His disciples answered Him, "Where will anyone be able to find enough bread here in this desolate place to satisfy these people?" 5 And He was asking them, "How many loaves do you have?" And they said, "Seven." 

There are some things to note in this passage:

• Jesus had compassion on them.
• They had stayed for at least three days, running out of food.
• Many would not make it home unless they were fed.
• Jesus knew what He was going to do, yet He still asked the question, "How many loaves do you have?"

From this we can deduce the following:

• Jesus was concerned not only for the spiritual welfare of these people, but also for their physical welfare.
• The disciples were focused on the problem (4,000 hungry men plus women and children) and what resources that they did not have (food) to solve that problem.
• In the hands of Jesus, 7 loaves and a few fish were enough to feed that great multitude.

I confess that it is all too easy for me to focus on my problems rather than on the God who is bigger than all of those problems. What I want is for all of my prayers to be answered the way I want which is early and bigger than all of the problems! As we have noted, God’s timing is perfect, rarely early. And there is the rub. That tension between my nervousness and God’s answer is the place where my faith in God can grow.

When I am in that place where my problems seem bigger than my faith in God, I can be tempted to give up, or justify my defeat because of my lack of resources. When I am focusing on what I do not have, then I need to ask myself some questions:

• Can I let God do things His way to accomplish what He has said He will do?
• Have I offered everything to God first?
• Am I expecting God to use my gifts to perform a miracle?
• Am I focusing on what I lack, or on my resources, or on God?

Praise God that He can use everything I bring to Him to chart the unique path for me!