Little Becomes Much in God's Hands

There's something beautiful about a child's simple faith. While the adults were calculating impossibilities, a young boy quietly offered what little he had. Today we're learning what God can do with our "not enough."

John 6:9-11 "There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are these for so many people? Jesus said, 'Have the people sit down.' Jesus then took the loaves, and having given thanks, he distributed to those who were seated; likewise also of the fish, as much as they wanted."

Let's get the picture right. This wasn't some abundant picnic lunch. We're talking about five wheat thins and two shrimp – crackers and pickled fish, like little sardines. It was barely enough for one person, let alone 25,000.

This boy could have thought, "What I have won't make a dent in meeting such a massive need." He could have justified keeping his lunch by saying, "At least I'll be fed." But here's a young boy who was content to give all that he had to Jesus.

What I wrote in my Bible as I studied this passage: What God has is always greater than what we lack. God honors the resources that men so often despise. Once our resources are given to God, He multiplies them in ways we never knew possible.

It's easy to give God our strengths. We're much more hesitant about handing God our insufficiency (Boice). But that's where God gets the glory.

You may feel like all you have is very little, but very little when given to God is not just enough – it's more than enough. When we give God all we have, we find that He is able to accomplish His purposes and plan.

Watch what happens: Jesus takes those five crackers and two sardines, gives thanks, and begins distributing food. How do we explain the miracle? We can't – that's what a miracle is. There's no oven, no grain, no multiplication process from a naturalistic sense. This is creative supernatural power. As Jesus handed it out, it was in His hand again, and it kept going and going and going.

And notice this beautiful detail in verse 13: "So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten."

God provides more than enough. I tend to think He provided one basket for each of His doubting disciples. They had asked, "What are we going to do?" None of them said, "Oh Lord, You're Jesus Christ. You do whatever is in Your perfect will." And here Jesus graciously gives each of them a basket full of leftovers as a gentle reminder of His abundance.

The greatest decision that boy ever made was giving what he had to Jesus. Imagine him standing there watching what God did with his scarcity. When placed in God's hands, our deficiencies become His sufficiency.

Throughout John's Gospel, Jesus shows Himself to be a gracious host. He makes more than enough wine – the best wine for last. He feeds the 5,000 with leftovers to spare. In a time when food was uncertain, He's generous and lavish. Before being crucified, His last interaction with the disciples is washing their feet. In the final scene of John's Gospel, He's making them breakfast.

Here's the King of the universe, but instead of being served, He's serving others.

Your brains, your talents, your giving, your giftings, your money – Jesus says bring them to Me. We may look at our deficiencies, but when placed in God's hands, our deficiencies are His sufficiency.

Stay dialed in.