Plenty for everyone

PLENTY FOR EVERYONE

1/06/09

The 12 baskets of “fragments” that were gathered by the disciples from the massive feeding of over 5,000 people came from a boy’s simple lunch. It probably was in a small basket at the beginning as well?

What was the “miracle meal” that Jesus used to feed so many?

We all know it….5 loaves of bread and 2 fish.

Late this afternoon as I took my walk for exercise, I began to talk to Jesus about my day. It had begun with unusual worry and anxiety. It seemed a million things were screaming at me at the same time, “Don’t forget me!!!!” I felt overwhelmed.

It drove me to Jesus and the Holy Spirit had beautifully taught me the freeing truths of Jesus to help me go into the day. It actually equipped me to experience Jesus in a living way. There was grace for me to trust Him in a new way.

You know, I didn’t come away pumping my fist and whooping and celebrating when He spoke….I was needy and I knew it…I was just so humbled and grateful that He was willing to step into my little world of pressures and problems and help me walk through them.

I was surprised as I took my walk to again begin hearing the Holy Spirit open some new things to me that I had never seen before. They are relevant for me and my present circumstances and the beginning of a new year; I hope they will be for you also.

Notice the numbers in this story….2 fish; 5 loaves; 12 baskets full.

The lunch had ….2 fish and 5 loaves which equals 7 items.

There are 7 days in a week.

12 baskets full….12 months in every year.

The small lunch with simple things represents our day to day living that makes up each week….7days.

The 5 loaves of bread represents the most common part of our life…what we call “the daily grind”. Consider how bread is made. The staple food of wheat (the simple things of our day) are picked and “ground up” (the daily grind) to put it in a form that can make bread…flour.

The flour is mixed with other ingredients and “kneaded” by hand….the hands of God taking the “simple moments of our day” and mixing them all together into a lump. Often we miss the hand of God kneading in our lives daily…but He is anyway.

Then comes heat for the baking process….trials and hardships….the floury dough begins to cook and a wonderful aroma begins to go out to others. At the right time, out comes the wonderful fresh baked bread. 5 days of the “everyday grind” to make the bread that becomes food for the multitude around us that Jesus is wanting to feed. 5 tastey loaves of bread ready to be put into the hands of Jesus.

The 2 fishes? The whole draw with fishermen is the “surprise” that ensues when you fish…you never know at what moment a fish down in the deep is going to bite the bait on your hook. Or if you were in Jesus’ day, you threw the nets out into the dark water and pulled it in to see if you had caught anything.

The fish represents “God’s surprises” of our week where He gives and we see the gift that it is to us in that moment. It’s “unexpected goodness”. Like the fishermen, in order to make the lunch that Jesus will multiply, we need to continuously throw our net out into the deep places to see if we will catch something. God loves to surprise us with His goodness!

That little lunch perfectly represents the weekly moments of our daily life with Jesus.

When we surrender the lunch to Him as the boy did, He takes it; blesses it and gives it to us to hand out to the hungry around us. Simple divine mathematics …and 12 baskets full are taken up of food after everyone has had all they can eat. God always gives more than we need so we have “plenty for everyone”…He’s that generous!

Yielding our daily grind and surprises from God will yield food for everyone that will last week to week, all year long.

That’s what was preached on the city walking trail in Siloam Springs to me today.

I’m passing this fish on to you and pray Jesus will multiply it for you…I think that is what He had in mind all along?