You Don’t Understand, God!

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I have no earthly idea how Jesus feeds 5,000. I am pushed to my limits when my extended family (9) comes for Sunday dinner. But then, I am in the faith business; the trust business. I trust in Jesus’ ability and not mine. Or do I?

Reading John 6:1-15, I find a pattern (actually, a rut) which needs to be fixed. Here it is.

Jesus:  “There is a human need I want to address. I want to address it though you. See it over there?”

Me:       (I do see it.) “I CAN’T DO IT! IMPOSSIBLE! YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND!”

Jesus:  “I didn’t ask you to do it. By yourself, you’re too puny. I want to do it through you. Check your resources. You have enough. And don’t overlook any. Don’t waste any. You have a tendency to be awed or overwhelmed by big things. Oh, and I am the Lord.”

Me:       “Here is what I have.” (Sigh/eye-roll, but I get on with it and I give up trying to be a Lone Ranger Messiah. I move my trust from myself to God.) [Bear in mind that I do this only on my best days. Too often, I just give up or keep whining.]

Jesus:  “I will do through you what I want to do and you will have more left over.”

I forget that I am not alone when things are toughest and needs are enormous. I forget that the Blessed Trinitarian God dwells in, through, around, under, over, in front of, and behind me. I forget that I am a poor steward of my time (I need to build in margin in my day by saying, “No” to those closest to me and those who press me the most.) I forget that I make “wants” into “needs” and waste resources. I forget that there are untapped resources all around me.

What is the biggest need you see outside yourself today? If you were a better steward of your time and finances, what might God want to have you do with what you do have to address this need?