Mark 10:27.
Good morning, Christian constrained by doubt! You love the Lord Jesus with all of your heart, soul, mind and strength, and you would just love to be more able to serve Him in whatever manner, or ministry, He could impower you to fulfil. But, in the face of impossible worldliness, hindrance, and widespread unbelief throughout the nations - that little niggling doubt within your mind/heart/spirit, constantly undermines your confidence, and plagues you with lack of trust in God to use you to awaken so many that are, Spiritually speaking, fast asleep.
If this in any small manner describes you, beloved Reader: read on, for the Word of God Himself has good news and encouragement for you.
Picture the day in question, described here in our March In Mark’s Gospel passage: Use your sanctified imagination to make the Holy Scriptures LIVE for you!
It is hot and dusty. Christ has been preaching and teaching a huge multitude of people that had followed Him to a very mountainous, lonely and barren place. When this great company came unto Jesus and His disciples, the Lord immediately had compassion on them, and said to one of His disciples, Philip, “…Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat? This He said to prove him (to test Philp): for He Himself knew what he would do.” (John 6:5-6)
The disciples were clearly faced with a totally impossible situation – humanly speaking.
Then Andrew, another of the disciples, Peter’s brother, informed them: “There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many?” (John 6:9)
No doubt, when the disciples had gone among the great multitude seeking food to feed them, the young lad had willingly, and cheerfully, offered to share his packed lunch with them. “The Lord loveth a cheerful giver…”
“Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: God loveth a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work.” (2 Corinthians 9:7-8)
“Give,
and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together,
and running over shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete
(weigh, dole out) withal it shall be measured to you again.” (Luke 6:38)
Imagine then, the amazement of all who witnessed what happened next! First, the Lord Jesus commanded the multitude to sit down in an orderly fashion: “And they sat down in ranks, by hundreds, and by fifties.” (V.40)
“And when He had taken the five loaves and the two fishes, He looked up to Heaven, and blessed, and brake the loaves, and gave them to His disciples to set before them; and the two fishes divided He among them all. And they did all eat, and were filled.” (Mark 6:41-42)
Wow! Not only did everyone get something to eat – “…they did all eat, and were filled”! Hallelujah! Five thousand men, plus women and children gathered there, dined and were filled by the contents of a young boy’s packed lunch! Now, this is a real Supernatural miracle! Glory to the Lamb, Who does miraculous things! Hallelujah! To the Christ of God!
“So he (Elisha’s servant) set it before them, and they did eat, and left thereof, according to the Word of the Lord.” (2 Kings 4:42-44)
“And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible.” (Mark 10:27)
J.C. Ryle Comments:
“Let us observe, for one thing, in this passage, what an example this miracle affords of our Lord Jesus Christ’s almighty power. We are told that He fed five thousand men, with five loaves and two fishes. We are distinctly told that this multitude had nothing to eat. We are no less distinctly told that the whole provision for their sustenance consisted of only five loaves and two fishes. And yet we read that our Lord took these loaves and fishes, blessed, brake, and gave them to His disciples to set before the people. And the conclusion of the narrative tells us, that “they did all eat, and were filled,” and that “twelve baskets full of fragments” were taken up.
“Here was creative power, beyond all question. Something real, solid, substantial, must manifestly have been called into being, which did not before exist. There is no room left for the theory, that the people were under the influence of an optical delusion, or a heated imagination. Five thousand hungry people would never have been satisfied, if they had not received into their mouths material bread. Twelve baskets full of fragments would never have been taken up, if the five loaves had not been miraculously multiplied. In short, it is plain that the hand of Him who made the world out of nothing was present on this occasion. None but He who at the first created all things, and sent down manna in the desert, could thus have “spread a table in the wilderness.” (J.C. Ryle’s Expository Thoughts on the Gospels 1816-1900)
Taking
a boy’s packed lunch contents, and feeding 5,000 plus people with it, was
nothing to the Almighty power and Supernatural will of our Lord Jesus. All we who fall foul of doubt and fears and
dreads in Christ’s service, must take heart from this evidence of Divine power.
Thought:
All things are possible, Christian! Only
believe, dear friend. Our God reigns!
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