Place it in His Hands

 

“The feeding of the 5000”. It’s quoted so much it almost sounds like a cliche! But there are some astounding truths in this wonderful miracle, found in John 6:8-13, that I had overlooked.

I was feeling grouchy. Really grouchy. Awoken by the shopping delivery very early on a Saturday, when I thought I could catch up with a bit of shut-eye, having been up extra late working/studying the night before. (Don’t judge me, the earlier delivery times are cheaper!😆). You know what it’s like, your time is so tight and just when you think you have your organisation skills perfected, another issue pops up and rocks the apple cart. Yes, there was yet another very important event happening this weekend that I had not factored in to my already-limited schedule. Grrrr!

Then I saw the title to a devotional from someone who I love to listen to, Joseph Prince, Called “place it in His hands”. I am going to share with you what was revealed to me as I began to read this account of 5000 people being fed miraculously from Jesus’  hands, with only five loaves of bread and two fish.

The first thing I noticed about this story, was that the limited resources available needed to be placed in the hands of the Supplier. That’s called “Prayer”. We take our issues, however small or large they are and we ask for God’s help in prayer. We ‘place it in his hands.’ Note that Jesus then placed this supply in the hands of his disciples. Then they distributed it to everyone else-‘the world’. This is intended as a model for us to follow, of God supplying pastors, elders, leaders etc. with His life – giving word, and then they distribute it to us. That’s not by any means the only way we are to receive it. We are supposed to spend time alone with God too. But remember, this story is a pattern to be followed. But there’s more.

Did you know that miracles are limiting? As exciting as they are, they are momentary- not lasting. The baskets show us this. They are containers - the supplies within them are therefore contained. The supply that Jesus made possible was supposed to be on a continuum. It was never meant to be the final point of arrival. When our leaders over us in the Lord spend time in God’s presence being fed by Him, they are able to “feed my sheep” from a place of love, which is what Jesus was communicating to Peter when he asked Peter three times, “Peter, do you love me?” In John 21:15-16. Jesus told Peter to “feed my sheep“. In other words get this life-giving “bread“ to everyone else. But there’s more.

As our pastors, elders etc. Feed us, we feed the world. That’s the whole point! We were never meant to be inward looking – there’s a whole world out there in need of help, guidance, supplies and above all, God’s love. The limitations of the metaphorical baskets have been utterly removed. Remember, Jesus left. He couldn't  stay with the disciples, He had to go back to heaven. This actually meant that a huge limitation to people receiving what they needed was also removed. Why? Because the Holy Spirit came, representing an unlimited supply. Jesus was one person limited to one space at one time. He couldn’t get to everybody. Couldn’t heal, teach, encourage, deliver and empower everyone all the time. But when the Holy Spirit arrived at Pentecost, he represented unlimited supplies. Because of Him, we now have unlimited ways of getting to the supplies He wants to give to us, unlimited ways of receiving those supplies, unlimited ways of  getting the good news out there, with plenty left over for us - The story tells us that there were 12 baskets full of leftovers. That sounds like abundance to me!

But don’t forget what our very first step was – placing it in his hands-telling him all about it in prayer, always being conscious of his love for us and his absolute will to supply whatever the need is. God has met every need through His son, Jesus. He is the ultimate “bread”.

For steps two and three, look at verse 11 of our scripture for today. It says that Jesus gave thanks before He distributed the bread. As we pray,  and way beyond our prayers let’s maintain an attitude of thanksgiving. As seen in the story today, Thanksgiving increases supply! Step three is about positioning. The people were sitting down, it says in verse 11. That looks like they were waiting to me. Nothing about them seemed frantic, fretful or concerned. They simply waited expectantly. That was their position. To them, they had already received what they needed. Lamentations 3:26 tells us that this kind of expectant waiting on God is a good attitude to have. And they were rewarded- John 6:11 tells us that they had as much as they wanted! So God doesn’t just scrape the bottom of the barrel to give us what we need because He’s on a budget. He wants to give far more than that. Keep that in mind with the current crisis facing the economy - but I’ll save that for another blog! In fact he wants to give much more than you can ask Him for. (Eph 3:20).

Honestly? This makes my griping at the beginning of this blog seem so trivial now. I’m going right now to place these issues in my Father’s hands. Then I’ll thank Him. And then…well, I’ll ‘sit down’ and expect. He’s my daddy, and He won’t let me down. And I encourage you to adopt this approach today.

Please share!

What have you told yourself today?

Do you know, that you have convos with yourself all the time? Each time you say “what shall I wear/ eat”? Or “I need to do this/that….”, you are talking to yourself. Sometimes aloud, sometimes internally. Now, I want you to do something very practical:

Take an inventory of your habits. What do you say to yourself every day? Maybe even several times a day? 

Now look at some of the things that have manifested in your life. I don’t mean things you can’t control, like rising energy costs, wars etc.  I mean things which you may have more control over than you realise. Things more nuanced, like your moods, or your tendency to fly off the handle, overspending, overeating,  habits like hoarding, obsessing, worrying - plus many more. I can guarantee that you weren’t born doing those things. At some point, you had a convo with yourself. It wasn’t a healthy one. But it became regular, and over the years has formed these habits. 

Would you like to see a change? 

I’m going to tell you to do something ridiculous: Keep doing the same thing! “WHAT?” Yes, keep on regularly speaking to yourself. But this time, where you say “I can’t“, you’re going to change it to:

 “I’m going to give this a try. And even if it doesn’t work this time I’m going to try again and again until it does.“ It’s taken many years for these negative habits to form, and yet exchanging them for positive ones for a few weeks on a regular basis means that your future can change. You are being deliberate, in your actions because you want change.  I can’t tell you that you will never fall into old habits again. But they will drop off if you don’t waste precious time entertaining them. They will dominate your thought patterns less because now you have a weapon in your arsenal which you are actively deploying against those unhealthy habits. Tell God:

“I don’t know the answer right now, but I’m telling you about it Lord, and I know I’m receiving your peace as I do that. Lord, every time my heart races, and questions come, and the threats surround me, I’m creating a habit right now of running to you. I’ve worried myself sick, I’ve turned things over and over in my head and discovered that it doesn’t work. Literally every time I feel panic, I’m running to you. Beginning TODAY.”

Whoever you are, I can tell you first hand, that you will find freedom and peace in exchanging your negative habits with biblical ones.  Here is an invitation, personally for you:

“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭11‬:‭28‬-‭30‬ ‭KJV‬‬

https://bible.com/bible/1/mat.11.29-30.KJV

Why don’t you accept this invitation  today?