God’s Miracles From Small Actions: A 4-Part DevotionSample

Day 3: Sharing a meal

Read: John 6:1–14

Reflect: Thousands of people have followed Jesus to the mountainside and now need something to eat. Given the sizable crowd, one of Jesus’ disciples estimates that it’d take more than half a year’s wages to buy enough bread for each person to have just one bite (John 6:7). Where will they get enough food?

Then a disciple notices a boy among the people and comments on the lunch he’s brought. Imagine the boy’s surprise! Even Jesus Himself is interested in the boy’s five small barley loaves and two small fish. Taking the food and giving thanks to God, Jesus feeds the entire crowd. Everyone has as much fish and bread as they want — with leftovers — from the boy’s single meal.

What if the boy had decided not to bring fish and bread with him that day or kept it hidden from the disciples? Surely Jesus could have provided for the crowds in another way. Yet Jesus worked in this way: through a boy and his choice to pack food — a choice others didn’t make. What the boy and disciples saw as a small, humble gift of food, Jesus used to nourish the whole crowd in body and soul.

“After the people saw the sign Jesus performed, they began to say, ‘Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world’” (John 6:14).

Consider: Who can you share a simple meal with this week, whether by inviting them to your home or by bringing food to them?