Thursday, August 30, 2012

Happy Meals? Or Banquets?


The human mind has limits.
The human will can be broken.
The human spirit is unable to rise above situations.
The human condition is in need of being healed.
All true statements, yet Jesus seemed to never understand this as he ministered to those around him.
Of course the statement I just made was not true. Jesus clearly understood everything about what it meant to be human.
He knew that faced with situations and circumstances that seemed to be beyond our ability or intellect, we would cry out, "That's impossible!".
He knew that given a task to big, with resources that were too small we would cry out, "That's impossible!"
In fact that is exactly what took place in Luke 9:13.
Let's set the picture.

Jesus has sent out the disciples on their own to minister and teach. He had given them power and authority to cast out demons and to heal all diseases. That's pretty heady stuff for a bunch of ol' fisherman and a tax collector. I mean that kind of stuff would give a fellow the big head in a heart beat. That's exactly what happened. The disciples show back up and, as Scripture put it, "They told Jesus everything they had done." Do you think maybe as they told their stories, they put a little jam on the bread, so to speak. The stories got a little bigger and a little more stretched than they actually were? I don't know if it happened or not, but I wouldn't be surprised.

Well as they told their story, they noticed that a huge crowd was hanging around. In fact they had been following Jesus for three days. The disciples tell Jesus...(Can you picture this....THEY ARE TELLING JESUS WHAT TO DO!!") Yo! Dude...you need to send these people away so they can get something to eat. Jesus takes them down a notch...."You feed them."

What's the first words out of the disciples mouths? "Impossible!"
The disciples looked at the situation.....weighed it against their own ability and resources and proclaimed such a task to be impossible. How many times have I done this. Found myself in a situation where I needed help and looked at myself as a source to solve the problem? Many more than I care to count. How many times,after reaching a conclusion that I was powerless, did I throw up my hands and proclaim, "It's impossible!" Once again, more than I would care to count.

Here is where I have met the God of the impossible. IN fact, I think maybe God created things that were impossible to show us that, with Him, all things are possible. I read this over and over through out the Bible...God's ability far exceed anything that I would deem or define as impossible.

In the story, the disciples brought to Jesus five loaves of bread and two fishes to feed a multitude of thousands. When we look at our situations with human eyes, we see five loaves of bread and two fishes. Not even enough to make a dent in our problems. But when Jesus looks at our situation, he sees a never ending meal and feast. He sees so much that everyone who takes and eats from his provision is filled. No one goes away lacking or still hungry. What is impossible with man is very much possible with Jesus.

So whatever you lot in life today....
Whatever problems or situations you may be facing.....

Don't be scared because you only see "five loaves and two fishes."
Just know that your heavenly Father sees the banquet.
When we turn everything over to Him, the impossible becomes the possible.

Trust Him today....

God on you.....
mb

1 comment:

Bobby said...

We all face situations that seem impossible. And like dumb sheep we need to be reminded that God can do anything!Thanks for the encouragement.

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