Always Enough

“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. So they all ate and were filled, and twelve baskets of the leftover fragments were taken up by them.” Luke 9:16

I just love this story that is filled with so many emotions that you and I experience during certain seasons of our lives. The backdrop for this story is a point in time when Jesus and His disciples had been individually and collectively sharing the message of God, and healing people in miraculous numbers. They had all come together and needed rest and renewal after such a rigorous schedule. But as Jesus led them ‘privately to the deserted place’ the crowd discovered their whereabouts and 5,000 people surrounded them. I love the apostles’ solution…send them away…let them find what they need elsewhere...we are exhausted…we need time away from our responsibilities. And what Jesus said and did next is such a beautiful foreshadowing of what He would eventually do for all of us. Scripture records that Jesus took the bread and fish, looked up to heaven and broke the bread into smaller fragments. Once it was blessed, there was more than enough to go around and not one person was still hungry.

How amazing is it that the deserted place where throngs of people were looking for Jesus was a snapshot of His future death and resurrection? As Jesus was lifted up on the cross…His broken body… He looked to heaven to commune with His Father. His body was broken for you and for me so we could also find Jesus in the deserted places. There is a multitude of people hungry for Jesus and longing for a miracle. Just as the bread in the basket was enough for the multitude, Jesus has always been enough for me. There is enough for Jesus to go around in all our stories…all our suffering…all our challenges. He was enough when my family needed Him to carry us through our heartbreaking season. He was enough when my prodigal was missing. He will be enough to supply your every need and heal your every wound. He will be enough to shoulder your exhausting burdens. Not only will He be enough, but He will be more than enough just like the leftovers in the baskets.

Like the disciples we must be willing to hold up Jesus even during times when we ourselves are in need. We must not send hungry people away but use the power and strength of Jesus to minister to those who need a Savior. And when we lean on Him, we live out John 6:35 in real time.

‘I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never go thirsty.’ John 6:35