Saturday 15 Feb 2020

February 15: Matthew 14:13-21

Key Verse: Matthew 14:15
As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food.”

Devotion:
Jesus was no stranger to crowds! Everywhere He went, people would gather round and follow Him hoping to be blessed or healed in some manner. People were surrounding Him with their faith – in their belief that He was willing and able to change their lives; so much so they would not always plan their days accordingly.

If we are going to spend the day out then we make plans for getting food for our lunch time, either by making sure there is somewhere we can have a meal or by taking enough food with us in the form of a picnic or sandwiches. But when we get caught up in the moment, we do not always make sure those plans are set in place and that is what was happening here. The people were more interested in following Jesus and in receiving a blessing than in planning how they were going to eat and drink during their day out!

Even though Jesus made a point of taking a boat to stop too many people following Him, they continued to come out of the towns and walk to where He was. The more the sick and poor came to see Him, the more compassion He showed and the more people He healed. The more Jesus did to heal the sick, the more people seemed to gather around Him. Late in the afternoon, the disciples were getting concerned people would not be able to get food and drink because the crowds were so big. It was at this stage they asked Jesus to send people away so they would be able to have time to go and get food… but Jesus had other plans!

The fact there was not enough food in the crowd for even a small portion of the crowd was not an issue for Him. He knew His Father in heaven would answer prayers and would supply enough for everyone to eat and drink. Jesus didn’t just start handing out food, He stopped and took what was available and used it as an offering to God before asking God to bless the people. He then stepped forward in faith and took what they had and instructed the disciples to hand out food to everyone – as much as they needed! God answered their faith!

Points to Ponder:
Do you impose limits on God in your daily life?

Are you ready to depend on your faith?