Feeding of the 5000: My God Is More Than Able

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What has Jesus’ feeding of the 5000 have to do with motherhood, you may wonder. It is a story that demonstrates that our God is more than able to provide for us if our hearts are willing and trusting.

Many times in my assignment as a mother I wonder – how on earth am I supposed to do it all?

Be a wife and mother who has to cook, homeshool, keep house… the list goes on. And on top of that, we have a larger than usual family to keep tabs on.

Jesus Feeding the 5,000

Yes, I know, trust God and do the next thing. But being weak and human, I still worry and grumble. After all, there is only one of me.

But we can learn something from the story of Jesus’ feeding of the 5,000 in John 6:1-15.

Here is a brief recap of that miracle Jesus performed:

We are told that there was a huge crowd of people, a multitude of 5,000 men (excluding women and children) – following Jesus around because of the signs he had performed by healing the sick (verse 2). Instead of dismissing them or leaving them as evening approached, Jesus asked his disciples where they could go to buy bread to feed all of them. Philip then replied that that was not possible while Andrew offered up a young boy’s food that the boy’s mother probably packed for him.

Five small loaves of bread and two small fish. Jesus took that small amount of food and not only did He feed them, but there were also 12 baskets of leftovers!

What lessons can we take away from the miracle of Jesus’ feeding of the 5,000 with just five loaves of bread and two fish for our mothering assignment?

God is More Than Able

As I juggle the many roles and duties required of me, I often cry out to the Lord – “I can’t!” And then I hear Him say, “Yes, but I can.”

He who was able to multiply five loaves of bread and two fish to feed the multitude with leftovers is definitely able to help me cope with the multitude of tasks I have to handle in my limited capabilities. My God is more than able.

Amen!

A Willing and Trusting Heart

What the little boy had was a willing and trusting heart. He willingly shared his food with everyone. And not only that, he trusted that as he shared his small amount of food, he will not be shortchanged by Jesus and end up going hungry.

Jesus took what he had and multiplied it for everyone, with leftovers. There was more than enough.

Similarly, If I am willing to be used by God as I work hard to fulfil my calling as a wife, mother and teacher, and trust that He will help me in all my areas of weakness, He will surely bless and multiply my efforts. I will not be shortchanged.

His Help is Near

And because He who has called me is faithful, I know I am not alone though I may feel so. I remember that

In this manner, I may not boast, except in Him. There are many times in this motherhood assignment that I answer “It is God” when people ask how do I do it all. I am not trying to be super spiritual. It is simply the truth.

We need to remember that God does not call us to do something only to abandon us. But we also need to remember to turn to Him in faith and ask for help because He is able to do “immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to the power that is at work within us”. Ephesians 3:20, NKJV.

Check Ourselves

From a practical standpoint, as we trust that He will provide what we need to perform our assignment, we need to examine ourselves from time to time to see if there are things that hinder us from performing our tasks properly and efficiently.

• Is it a lack of organisation?
• Is it laziness?
• Is it a fear of failure that has us preferring not to take charge in case we fail?
• Is it FOMO – the fear of missing out that has us saying “yes” to too many good things?

No matter our level of trust and faith in God, if we are lazy and scattered, then we won’t be able to do what we need to do efficiently.

Taking on Too Much?

What has God called you to be? Do the things you do move you towards fulfilling that calling? Or distract you?

If the things we do distract rather than move us towards fulfilling His instructions, then it is time to let it/them go. There are always good things to be done but if it doesn’t bring you closer to fulfilling your calling, then they might as well be bad things.

Sometimes we busy ourselves with a lot of busy activities that end up just making us tired and frazzled that the Lord never intended for us to do. And then we wonder why we can’t do what we need to do.

Remember, we may not be able, but our God is More Than Able! As Paul said,

Friends, let us not forget that if God can multiply five small loaves of bread and two small fish to feed 5,000 people with 12 baskets of leftovers, He can surely multiply whatever talent and strength we have to serve our families if we have willing and trusting hearts.

Related Posts

Trust God and Do the Next Thing
Trust God and Embrace Change
I am Not Being Super Spiritual

*This post was originally posted on 10 February 2008 and has been updated.

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