And they said to Him, “We have here only five loaves and two fish.” He said, “Bring them here to Me.” Matthew 14:17-
A crowd had gathered to hear Jesus’ teachings and to receive a healing touch from the Master. In fact, the group had grown to about five thousand men besides the women and children. So, it could have easily been fifteen or twenty thousand people there. In this case, “there” is not a city teeming with people but rather a deserted place. The people had come out from the surrounding cities on foot and now the hour was getting late.
Why was Jesus ministering to such a large crowd in an out-of-the-way place like this? He had not gone there for the crowd, but rather just the opposite; He had gone there for the solitude. He had just received the news that His cousin, John the Baptist had been killed by Herod. Actually, Herod was afraid to put John to death because he was popular and he feared John’s followers would not take it well, but in the end, pride and peer-pressure won the day and he ordered it done. That’s right, even kings battle with (and many times give in to) the fear of man. But that is a topic for another day
So, Jesus had gone to this deserted place to be alone and ends up with a huge, hungry crowd and none of them thought to bring food. Well, almost none of them. The disciples did come up with five loaves of bread and two fish. In other words, to put it in perspective, if the crowd numbered fifteen thousand then, in the natural way of figuring things they would have had to divide each fish into seven thousand five hundred pieces! Needless to say, they had much too little to meet the need at hand.
Have you ever found yourself with too many mouths to feed and too little food to feed them? Or maybe the month’s too long or the paycheck is too short or both? Whatever the particulars, sometimes you find yourself coming before the Lord with a need. The numbers just don’t add up and you have been diligent to do all you can, nevertheless there is nothing you can do at that moment to change the equation. Even though there is nothing you can do, there is always something that can be done.
Jesus told the disciples to bring Him the little they had and that’s when the equation changed. Jesus shows you the key to turning a little into plenty. First, He had everyone sit down. In other words, prepare to receive the answer to your prayer. Prepare for God’s provision to be manifested. Then, He took the loaves and fish that they had brought to Him and looked up to heaven. Always remember that your help comes from the Lord. Every good gift, every provision comes to you from God.
Then, He thanked the Father for this supernatural provision before it even came to pass. The end result was everyone eating their fill of bread and fish and there being twelve baskets full of fragments left over!
Bring your little before the Lord, prepare to receive His provision, look to the Lord for your help and thank Him even before you see it. He will turn your little into plenty!
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