A Boy And His Lunch

Then He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the multitude. Luke 9:16

The “Feeding of the 5,000″ is the only miracle of Jesus that is recorded in all four Gospels. In that story, Jesus faced some very real problems. There was a very large crowd present that day. If you include the women and children, there could have been anywhere from 15,000 to 20,000 people that evening. The people were hungry as they had been out in the middle of the desert all day to hear Jesus preach. Jesus desperately needed a miracle at that moment. From this story, you can find four important keys to experiencing a miracle in your own life.

• Key #1: You must admit that you have a need and you want God’s help. More than 20 times in the New Testament, we are commanded to ask—”Ask, and it shall be given to you”! But many Christians find this difficult. We don’t like to admit our problems. We would rather hide them, cover them up, blame others, or simply pretend that our problems don’t exist. Yet, in our heart of hearts, we usually end up worrying and getting stressed over them.

• Key #2: You have to assess what you already have. Take a reality check: “What have I got? How am I using what I’ve got?” You may feel that what you have is too little, too small, or too insignificant; that it is impossible to meet the need at hand. But God loves to make the impossible possible!

• Key #3: Give God whatever you have. As the Son of God, Jesus could have just rained manna down from heaven. But God always works with what we have. A little boy came forward with his lunch box and said, “Jesus, I have five loaves of bread and two little fish.” Andrew had so little faith in Jesus that he asked, “Lord, how can so little food feed such a great crowd?” (John 6:8-9). What Andrew didn’t understand is that when we give Jesus the available, He will do the impossible. God likes to use ordinary people to do extraordinary things. That little boy gave willingly, cheerfully and immediately. God loves a willing, cheerful and immediate giver.

• Key #4: Expect God to multiply it. Everybody ate till their hearts’ content and they had 12 baskets of leftovers. Why 12? Perhaps so that the 12 disciples could each carry one basket back to the little boy’s house and learn their lesson for failing the test of faith. Apply these four simple keys today and see God perform awesome miracles in your life.