Looking for the Leftovers!

So yesterday we looked at the disciples' reaction to the problem of having to feed 5,000 men.  In Luke 9 we can read the story of Jesus feeding the 5,000.  He takes five loaves and two fishes and miraculously, Jesus multiplies it to be enough food for the crowd.  In yesterday's post, "Twelve Heads Aren't Better Than One", I shared with you how the disciples missed the big picture.  They tried to come up with their own solutions to the problem and thought they were doing Jesus a favor by informing Him of the hungry crowd.  And like the disciples, we respond the same way when we are faced with our own struggles.  We offer up our prayers asking for God to intervene in our situation, but then we go about trying to solve the problems on our own.

Today, I would like to look at Jesus' example in the middle of this crisis.  Of course He wasn't taken a back by the predicament.  Jesus knew exactly what time of day it was and where they were.  The disciples didn't tell Him anything He didn't already know.  Jesus asked the disciples to have the people sit in groups of fifty and then the miracle began. 

Verse 16 gives us very clear instructions on how to handle our problem or crisis.  Jesus' example offers us a step by step approach when faced with our personal challenges.  Look at the verse:

"Taking the five loaves and two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke them."

Jesus first looked up to heaven.  He stood there holding a small amount of food that wasn't even enough to feed the Twelve and looked to heaven.  First we see that Jesus recognized the meager amount of resources He had.  It wasn't enough.  He needed to multiple what He had.  I can just picture Jesus standing there with those five loaves and two fish humbly looking to the heavens offering what He had to God.  What humility.  What an example.  What surrender.  What a lesson. 

What really hits me when I read the first part of this verse, is that "Jesus looked up."  He didn't hang His head in defeat.  He didn't pace back and forth in worry.  He didn't hide.  He looked up.  When faced with my problems, I tend to put my head down and focus on getting through it.  I want to focus only on the obstacle before me, which means keeping my eyes on the ground and walking by sight.  But Jesus' example is the opposite.  If, in the middle of our problems, we can learn to lift up our heads and our eyes and focus on God, the perspective of our situation changes.  We start walking by faith, not sight.  We begin to trust and in faith walk forward into whatever God has for us in the midst of that challenge.  The best part is that by looking up, we loose sight of our problems and in turn we aren't overwhelmed by our circumstances to the point that we can't see any way out.  There is power in the position of looking up.

Secondly, Jesus gave thanks.  Isn't that just incredible.  Here was this little lunch....a bit of food.  Not enough to do much, but Jesus gave thanks anyway.  He gave thanks for what He did have, instead of loudly declaring to God all that He still needed.  And I have to think that part of His thanksgiving was in faith.  Jesus believed in what God was going to do.  Without seeing the results, before there was an abundance of provision, Jesus thanked God in advance for what He believed God would do.  Can we do that?  Can we find something to be thankful for even when its not enough?  Might we be so trusting that we can confidently bring thanks and praise to God for what He is going to do....even before He does anything?  The real question is, can we thank God even when He chooses to do nothing?

Lastly, but profoundly, Jesus broke the loaves and fish.  The end of verse 16 says, "....he gave thanks and broke them."  Doesn't it strike you as profound that before the loaves and fish were able to be used, before they were multiplied, Jesus had to break them.  Wow.  That blows my mind.  I have begged and begged for God to offer me a way out of my situation, my circumstances, when what He needed most was for me to be broken.  I can remember, about two years ago, writing in my journal with passion and pleading for God to use me, for Him to change in me whatever needed changing so that I could be used in a powerful way.  When I was in prison, I was broken.  I didn't want to be broken.  I didn't want to go through that experience.  For months I prayed that God would remove the case, would intervene in the court system, that He would do something, anything.  And He did....He broke me.  And although the experience was difficult, the breaking apart a times painful, it was after that breaking that God was able to use me.  It was only after breaking, after being broken into small humble pieces, did God choose to multiply me and my efforts.  Incredible!  What a lesson to learn.

My story is one of redemption.  Actually, I like to call it a story of leftovers.  You see, I would have been satisfied and filled simply with God touching my heart and setting me free.  It would have been enough for God to just transform my heart and make it clean and whole.  I would have lived a wonderful life of praise to Him had He just chosen to break apart the fear, the guilt and condemnation.  That was the miracle.  But here I sit today, with a ministry, with a voice, with a calling.  This is the leftovers.  This is the extra.  This is the abundance. 

In verse 17 we see that Jesus didn't just produce enough food for the crowd.  He produced leftovers!  Only God can break us, redeem us and then give us leftovers!  When we can learn to trust Him enough to work whatever miracle in our lives, God can give us more than we could ever imagine.  He has the power to not only work in our circumstances but give us such abundance that we can have leftovers!