Chasing Truth™: Read the Bible Cover to CoverSample

He Can Provide

I remember receiving phone calls from one of my teenage sons saying that he had invited “a few people” to our house. At first, this news would send me into a panic, thinking, What in the world am I going to feed these kids? I would rush to get groceries, hurry home, then scurry around the kitchen preparing for the hungry mouths I needed to feed. I eventually learned to plan ahead to be ready for those calls.

Jesus also felt responsible to feed a crowd who had come to see Him. He said, “I have compassion on the crowd, because they’ve already stayed with me three days and have nothing to eat.  If I send them home hungry, they will collapse on the way, and some of them have come a long distance” (Mark 8:2,3, CSB). Jesus wasn’t panicked by the thought of providing food for this many people.

Feeding a crowd is not easy, even for experienced chefs. The disciples became puzzled, asking, “Where can anyone get enough bread here in this desolate place to feed these people?”(verse 4, CSB). I’m imagining no grocery stores, bakeries, or fast food restaurants nearby. 

The rest of this story is in this week’s reading, how Jesus took seven loaves of bread and broke it, filling many baskets full to feed the crowds. I’ve often wondered what it was like to stand by, watching as basket after basket became full of pieces broken from the same loaves and fish. When did the disciples realize they were seeing a miracle?

If the Son of God can provide for the needs of a large crowd this easily, can He not also provide for our needs? As we listen to His teaching, trust Him, and seek His face, He delivers answers for every need we have.