John 6:5-6 When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward Him, He said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” He asked this only to test him, for He already had in mind what He was going to do.
John 2:5 His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”
Have you experienced areas of your life where there is not enough? It could relate to time, money, energy or other resources. You may be facing a complex problem and you don’t have a solution. It is burdensome when your efforts come up short to meet the need. Recently, I felt crushed under the weight of trying to do “all the things” – things required of me, things I need to do and things I want to do. Whatever plan I came up with seemed insufficient to get the job done.
The disciples faced a situation where they didn’t have nearly enough to do what Jesus asked them to do. They were in a remote place and a crowd of more than 5,000 people showed up to see Jesus. He asked the disciples, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” They probably thought, “Jesus, you can’t be serious. What you’re asking is impossible.” But Jesus was very serious.
Today, we experience our own version of what the disciples experienced. God leads us into situations where our resources are insufficient to meet the need. He uses these situations to test us and teach us. He already knows the solution to our problems and has the provision for our needs. Yet, He leads us to face our insufficiency to see if we will trust Him. I’ve noticed a pattern: we start with a false sense of peace as we trust our own ability to solve the problem. We then feel the anxiety rising and the peace evaporating. At some point, we hit the harsh reality of our insufficiency and we have a choice: continue spiraling in anxiety or choose to trust, even when we don’t yet see how things will work out. When we choose to trust and exchange our self-reliance for dependence on Him, we have a breakthrough of true peace.
I don’t know about you, but I’ve never really enjoyed tests and the stress they produce. However, I’ve learned that tests given by good teachers make me smarter. Good teachers don’t want you to fail, they want you to learn and grow. God’s tests are like taking an open book test where you exchange your wrong ideas for God’s truth. You learn,
- He is trustworthy and His ways are superior to yours
- His wisdom far exceeds what you could have come up with and
- His funds are never insufficient.
The answer to the test is always to seek Him, trust Him and as Mary told the servants in John 2:5, “Do whatever He tells you to do.” Even when you don’t immediately see the answer, even when He makes you wait – walk in peace, trusting that He will show up.
Awesome words Candace!