Matthew 14
In Matthew 14, Jesus feeds the 5000. His disciples see only what they themselves can do without the power of God: “It’s too far from town. It’s too late in the day. There are too many people. We’ve too little to share.”
Jesus tells His disciples to feed the people. We should want to help and gather up what we have to offer.
Jesus takes the five loaves and two fishes, and he looks to heaven, to His Father. Rather than focusing on the task, our power or lack thereof, we look to Him and offer what we have.
Looking to His Father, Jesus blesses what is offered. He gives thanks. Every good gift and every perfect gift comes from the Father… (Ja 1:17). We should be grateful for whatever gift or talent we’ve been given, knowing that it’s not of our own making or skill, but from Him for His glory.
Jesus breaks the bread. This reminds me of Him giving His body for our redemption. I see here that God works miracles through what’s broken and offered to Him. He multiplies not the loaves, but the broken pieces. We find Him in our own brokenness.
Jesus gives the pieces of bread and fish to the disciples to distribute. The disciples hand out lunch; later, they later bring the Gospel and Jesus’s teachings to the world. We’re to share what we’ve been given, be it time, talent, finances, using whatever gifts He’s given us for His purposes: teaching, prayer, exhortation, hospitality, generosity, for His glory, not our own. When we offer it for His glory, there's always more than enough to go around.
Later in Matt 14, Jesus is walking on the water. Peter asks to join Him. Jesus beckons, and Peter walks on water, for only as far as he’s watching the Son of God. Then, seeing the wind and waves, he gets afraid and sinks. In the margin of my old Bible, I’d written: “doubt ALWAYS comes from fear,” but I’m no longer sure it’s fear of the waves that causes his sinking as much as his taking his eyes off Jesus, the Power that strengthens us (Php 4:13).
As he walked on the sea, the fisherman no doubt shifted his focus from Jesus to his own feet. “Look! See what I’m doing!” Then the waves and boisterous wind scare Simon Peter. Floundering, he calls for Jesus to save him. Jesus doesn’t admonish Peter for his fear, but for his lack of faith, asking, “Why did you doubt?” Fear comes from a lack of faith, but Peter’s faith likely wavers because he’s looking at himself instead of at Jesus. 2Cor 3:4-5 tells us that our competence, our sufficiency, is not in what we ourselves can do, but in God. God says, “I will guide you with my eye” (Ps 32:8 NKJV). For Him to guide us with His eye, we must learn to walk with our eyes on Him alone, saying, “Look at Him! See what He’s doing!”
Holy Wows: After writing this on January 22, I read a Charles Stanley devotional for that day: “The key to dealing with difficulty lies in trusting the One who is in control of all things… Unless our focus remains steady on Jesus, circumstances will overwhelm us.” The sermon at church on January 23rd was about Joseph’s confidence in God. Of course, Peter walking on the water was mentioned. It’s not too late to start the One Year Bible!