HEAL – God’s Heart for Healing in MarkShembull

Forgetting God’s Past Provisions

Have you ever gotten in the car and realized once on your way that you had forgotten something? Not a good feeling. Today’s account is not an actual healing, but it certainly has a principle to remember when you are on your healing journey. The principle is to never forget God’s past provisions on your behalf.

Here’s a little backstory into this account. Jesus and His disciples had just fed 4,000+ men, women and children with just seven loaves of bread. Don’t get this confused with the story of the feeding of the 5,000 with five loaves of bread and two fish. That was an account before this one. This was the second time Jesus had performed a miracle and fed such a huge crowd.  

Now, Jesus and the disciples are sailing in a boat, and the disciples had forgotten to bring bread with them for the trip. They only had one loaf in the boat. Instead of remembering God’s provision from the very recent past, they completely forgot about the miracle they had just seen and experienced firsthand. Talk about miracle amnesia. Jesus Himself had to remind them of the past two miracles concerning bread and all the leftovers they gathered.  

Just like us, the disciples have seen God do amazing things in their lives, but can easily forget these past provisions and get caught up in the current circumstances. You may not have seen a huge miracle as they did, but how often do we run to God, fearful He won’t come through with our problem. The reality is He’s right there with us, waiting for us to put our trust in Him.

Questions:

1. Jesus said to the disciples when they were talking about bread, “Do you still not see or understand? Are your hearts hardened? Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear?” What do you think Jesus felt like upon seeing they still didn’t clue as to who He was?
2. Have you forgotten some of God’s victories or provisions on your behalf?
3. What are ways you can recall His provisions?  

Activity: Take the time to recall and write down times when God came through for you. Jot down a word that will remind you of that memory or victory and place it somewhere where you’ll see it daily as a reminder of His faithfulness.