John 6:8-9
Then Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up.  “There’s a young boy here with five barley loaves and two fish. But what good is that with this huge crowd?”
I’m sure we are all very familiar with Jesus’ miraculous feeding of the 5,000. It’s an amazing miracle and must have had a profound effect on everyone who witnessed it. But I’m particularly interested in what happened before the miracle took place. John records that Jesus asked Philip where they could buy food for the people. Then John added that Jesus knew exactly what he was going to do, but was merely testing Philip. Philip gave the (not unreasonable) answer that, even if they worked for months, they wouldn’t have sufficient money to pay for enough food for the crowds. And then Andrew pointed out the hopelessness of the situation by highlighting a young boy in the crowd with his packed lunch. But with despair he observed: “What good is that with this huge crowd?”
This all feels very familiar. When we look at the problems of our world, or even in our local community, it is very easy to get depressed. There is so much to be done. The needs are not only vast but also extremely complicated. We look at our resources and, like the disciples, conclude that there is absolutely nothing that we could do to make a difference. The boy’s packed lunch was just a joke! It didn’t contain enough to satisfy the needs of one grown man let alone a vast crowd of hungry people.  
Jesus’ miraculous feeding of this enormous crowd was a lesson that the disciples needed to remember throughout their lives. In the years to come, they all faced great challenges as they served God, and they needed to keep their eyes on Jesus rather than the problems. It is absolutely right that we should apply our logical thinking to the challenges that we face, but we must never forget that we are serving a God of miracles who, to use the words of the apostle Paul, is able “to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.” (Ephesians 3:20).
Question: In what way do you find Jesus’ feeding of the 5,000 an encouragement?
Prayer: Lord Jesus Christ, I place my faith in you. Forgive me for those times when I become overwhelmed by the problems, and forget that you are a miracle worker. Amen

Released on 20 Jul 2022