Jesus will provide

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW

JESUS WILL PROVIDE

Matt 14:15-21

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." 16 Jesus replied, "They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat."  17 "We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish," they answered. 18 "Bring them here to me," he said. 19 And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. 20 They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. 21 The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children.

NIV

Other accounts include some other details of their miraculous event. But we need not go to them for a lesson in the divine provision of God. Although in the account of John it appears Jesus was testing the faith of Phillip in that he asked him where they could buy bread for the people to eat. Jesus already knew what he was going to do, but wanted to see if Phillip and perhaps the others would come up with the solution that Jesus could provide all they need. In Matthew account we are already shown the disciples did not even think that Jesus was capable of providing enough food for over ten thousand people. That might even be a conservative number as there were five thousand men and then all the women and children who were not among that count. Yet here it is, Jesus feed them all from just a little bit of bread and fish, about the amount needed one person’s provisions. This is nothing less than the divine act of one who created everything that was created from nothing. To take five loafs and two fish and feed thousands of people and even have leftovers is nothing short of an act of God. No earthly magician could do anything close to this, not even Satan in an effort to deceive people away from the truth. There is no power on earth that can do what Jesus did here. Of course that is not to say some of the food bank programs may have feed that many people over a period of time, but that would be donations from many other people. What we have here is Jesus making enough food by just his power alone. This should have strengthened the faith of the disciples for sure. They should have been so impressed they had to know he was the divine Messiah, the Son of God who came down from heaven, God in the flesh. Although they were not privy to the concept of the three in one as that point. They should have been if they were not there at the time Jesus was baptized by John, they must have heard about it. That was the time the trinity was all together at one time, Jesus in the flesh, the Holy Spirit descending upon in him in the form of a dove and the voice of God from the heavens. Nevertheless they were still not fully aware of Jesus actually be Yahweh in the flesh. The point of this miracle, this provision for so many from so little is simply to prove Jesus can provide for us in the same way. We do not have to be wealthy in order to be sustained by the power of God in our lives. He can provide more than enough for us from the smallest amount we have. We merely have to look to him for that provision, rather than looking to ourselves.  If they looked only at their ability to provide for the people, they would have only have five loafs and two fish. Surely that would not go very far at all, but Jesus made more from less. This is how he works in our lives if we get our eyes off of our abilities and trust in him for our needs. Yes, we need to work. Yes, we should earn our paycheck, but we are also told to do our work or work as onto the Lord.

Col 3:22-25

22 Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to win their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord. 23 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, 24 since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

NIV

Eph 6:5-8

5 Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ. 6 Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but like slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart. 7 Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men, 8 because you know that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free.

NIV

So the point is that we are to work, but not for the provisions of our life, but for the benefit of our Lord, doing that which is right in his sight. He will multiply that which we have so that we even have leftovers. We do not have to make large sums of wealth in order to have a good life. We only need to trust in his divine power to provide for us. We are told over and over again of this principle.

Mal 3:10-12

10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it. 11 I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not cast their fruit," says the LORD Almighty. 12 "Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land," says the LORD Almighty.

NIV

Not room enough to contain, which is more than leftovers, which is enough for a lifetime. But of course this has a condition of bringing the whole tithe into the storehouse. But the New Testament is full of examples of the provision of God simply because he loves us. The most famous one is:

Matt 6:24-34

 24 "No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money. 25 "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air ; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? 28 "And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

NIV

Time and time again we are told Jesus will provide for us. Why should we not trust him to do so? He will do it. He has told us to ask anything in his name and he will do it, he will provide for us, if we but ask him. Yes, again we need to work, but he will use that which we work for, as long as we are working as to him, not as to our boss, and he will make it enough to provide all we need. How that happens for each person may be a little different, but the point is Jesus will provide. When there is no other way, he will find a way. Jesus will provide.