When not enough, is!

When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns. When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick. As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food.” Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.” “We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered.
And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children.

Matt 14:13-21

Let's go back to that moment in time that feels somehow like today. Jesus has just received some really bad news, his cousin, his friend, the one who prepared the way for him, John, has been executed!

John the Baptist is dead! And Jesus does exactly what any of us would do. He tries to get out of there to find a quiet place. So he gets into a boat to get away. He needs a moment. He's grieving.

But the crowd won't let him go. They follow on foot, thousands of them, desperate and hungry for words of hope.

And this is where the story gets kind of uncomfortable, because Jesus looks at this massive inconvenience of lost people and he’s "moved with compassion." Not irritation, not resentment, just compassion. So He heals their sick. He engages their pain while at the same time He quietly carries his own.

Evening comes and the disciples see the obvious problem; i.e. a remote location, a massive crowd, and no catering service and no let’s all head over to the chippy!

The disciples solution is practical and reasonable. "Send them away. Let them figure it out. This isn't our problem." Sound familiar? How often do we look at the need around us and think, "Someone else will handle this, anyway, I don't have enough" 

But Jesus says something that still echoes through the centuries. "They don't need to go away. You give them something to eat”

You!

Not an angel, not a miracle dropped from the sky. You give them something.

The disciples scramble. They take stock, what have we got? Five loaves, two fish, that's it! And I love their honesty here because they don't put a spin on it by pretending to have more. They don't exaggerate their starting point. They just bring what they have, as embarrassing as it was. What must it have been like to have said out loud. “Five loaves and two fish! All they had to feed thousands of people.

Here's the moment everything changes.

Jesus doesn't criticise the size of their offering. He doesn't say, "Go find more and come back." He takes what they have. He looks up to heaven, He gives thanks, He breaks it, and He starts handing it out.

Look at the sequence carefully, because this is the blueprint for every miracle we're praying and waiting for. He took it. He blessed it. He broke it. He multiplied it!

Notice that the blessing came before the breaking. The gratitude came before the multiplication. Jesus didn't wait to see the outcome before he said thank you. He thanked God for five loaves and two fish like it was already a feast. That's not positive thinking. That's faith!

And we all know how the story ends. Everyone eats until they're full. Not just a polite cucumber sandwich nibble, satisfied, stuffed! And when they gather the leftovers, there are twelve baskets of crumbs. Twelve. One for each disciple who thought they didn't have enough. Every single one of them got to carry a basket of proof that God doesn't just meet needs, he exceeds them!

So what about us?

When we have five loaves and two fish. In our minds we’ve something that feels laughably small compared to the need in front of us. Maybe it's a dream that seems too big for our talent. Maybe it's a relationship that needs more wisdom than we possess. Maybe it's a calling that terrifies us because we've counted our resources and the math’s doesn't add up.

All of us need to hear this:

God isn't waiting for us to have enough. He's waiting for us to bring what we have!

 We need to stop disqualifying ourselves because our offering looks small. We need to stop sending people away because we're afraid our contribution won't matter. We need to stop waiting until we feel adequate, because that day may never come; and that miracle we’re praying for, it’s tied to our willingness to start with not enough!

The disciples didn't solve the problem. They just brought what they had to Jesus. That's all. They put their insufficient resources into the hands of the only one who could do something with them. And that's our job too. Not to figure out the multiplication. Not to understand the mechanics of the miracle. Just to bring it. Just to offer it. Just to say, "This is what I have. It's not much. But it's yours."

And here's what I've learned; gratitude is the bridge between our not enough and his more than enough. When you can thank God for what's in your hands before you see it multiplied, you're not just being optimistic. You're declaring that the outcome doesn't determine our worship. You're saying, "Even if this is all I ever have, you're still good." That's the kind of faith that moves mountains and feeds multitudes. 

So here's the challenge.

Name your five loaves. Stop obsessing over what you lack and take honest stock of what you actually have.

Your experience. Your voice. Your time. Your influence. Your story. Bring it. All of it. However small it looks.

Stop sending people away. The need in front of you might be there on purpose. That person who keeps showing up. That opportunity that keeps knocking. That problem that won't go away. Maybe God is saying, "You feed them."

Start thanking God now. Before the breakthrough. Before the provision. Before the multiplication. Thank him for what's in your hands today, not what you hope will be there tomorrow.

And when the miracle comes; and it will;  don't forget to collect the leftovers. Write it down. Remember it. Build an altar of evidence so that the next time you're staring at an impossible crowd with insufficient resources, you can look back and say, "I've seen this before. He did it then. He'll do it again."

None of us are defined by what we lack, but we are positioned by what we’re willing to offer. The crowd is hungry. The need is real. And the only question that matters is this: 

Will you bring your little and let God do a lot? 

And the truth that needs pressed into our hearts, is what we call 'not enough', God calls a starting point! And when we place our smallness in his hands, we're not just feeding a crowd. We're becoming part of a story where scarcity meets sufficiency, where ordinary people become conduits of extraordinary grace, and where five loaves and two fish become more than enough.

Bring it. He's ready.

have a great week, and God bless,

Trev. 😄