The Bible records how Jesus was teaching more than 5,000 people when His disciples basically told Him, “We’ve got a big crowd, they’re getting hungry, and it’s late. Let’s send them away so they can buy food.”
I love His answer in Mark 6:37: “You give them something to eat.”
Today, we are His disciples, and He is speaking this to us. How many people don’t have Jesus, the Bread of Life? Is it a multitude, more than we can number?
Are we going to answer, “God, send them somewhere else”—or perhaps, “Lord, send the angels to help them”? God didn’t want to do it that way; it brings Him glory to use us.
He has given us the Gospel, and 2 Corinthians 5:19-20 says: In Christ God was reconciling the world to himself … entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us.
Are we going to answer, “God, send them somewhere else”—or perhaps, “Lord, send the angels to help them”?
He is reaching out to the world and telling us, “You give them something to eat.”
When the disciples heard Jesus say this, they asked if they should go buy bread. But He replied, “How many loaves do you have? Go and see.” And when they had found out, they said, “Five, and two fish” (Mark 6:38).
Then God, the great giver, multiplied what they had and fed the multitude. The disciples simply needed to obey.
You and I need to do the same thing in order to achieve what God has commanded us. We must take what we have and say, “God, only You can multiply this. We can plant and water, but only You can give the increase.”
So together let’s pray, “Lord, You’ve commanded us to go and feed Your sheep, and we want to obey. You have shown us the need and given us the strategy, and we agree in faith that we can do it. Now we ask You for the increase and trust You to bring a mighty harvest for Your glory, in Jesus’ name.”
God bless you!