Trusting Jesus When Life Is Hard: A Study on John 6Sample

When It Seems Impossible

Yesterday, we looked at the interaction where Jesus tested Philip’s faith by asking a seemingly impossible question: “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?”

Maybe you’re asking Jesus equally “impossible” questions, like …

• When will I see the healing I’m desperately seeking?
• How will I be able to pay this unexpected bill?
• When will my child experience freedom?
• Will this relationship ever get better?
• Will I ever find a spouse?

When we’re faced with something difficult, it can seem overwhelming. Especially when we can’t detect God moving. So it becomes tempting to take the situation into our own hands—trying to fix things according to what seems best to us. Some of us eventually lose hope that the situation will ever change.

This is what happened to Philip. In response to Jesus’ question, Philip doubted.

The reality of the situation—from Philip’s very human perspective—is that it would take half a year’s wages to buy enough bread for each person to have a bite. Therefore, there is certainly no way to fill everyone’s empty stomachs.

It’s important to note that Philip had already witnessed Jesus perform many miracles before facing this crowd. He’d seen Jesus turn water into wine and heal many people. Yet he didn’t believe there was a way to provide for the crowd, because of its size.

This shows us Philip still had a weak understanding of who Jesus really is.

This can happen to us, too. Dark circumstances can cloud our memory of God’s past and current faithfulness and tempt us to see things from a human or worldly perspective.

That’s why it’s important to recognize any thoughts and perspectives that are not based on faith in God. We can then make the choice to replace them with the truth of who God is. Like Philip, we need to really know and look to Jesus as the one eternal and almighty God.

Today, let’s fix our minds on Jesus. Remember that He is working for good in all His children’s situations—both the “possible” and the “impossible” ones.

Journal: Consider the trial you named yesterday. How are you currently viewing the situation? Where do you need to shift your thinking to more fully trust God?