Read Mark 6:30-52
I’m a little jolted by a couple of verses this morning… “But he answered; YOU give them something to eat.” (v37) and “He saw the disciples straining at the oars, because of the wind…He was about to pass by them,…” (v48) Jesus allowed his close friends, his beloved followers to struggle… He even raised the tension level by telling them “YOU do it.” He was willing to leave them staining at the oars and just meet them on the other side of the lake just like he has told them. He even was willing (for a time) to leave them in their hard-hearted state (see v52) by leaving the miracle of the loaves and fishes unexplained. And even after WALKING into the boat in the middle of the water with a storm pressing down, He seems to leave them to their feeling of amazement without much of an explanation that HE WAS (and is) GOD!!!! HE is the provider and sustainer! He is the ONLY ONE worth putting our complete trust in for our lives (both now and for eternity)… He just let them struggle, he gave them room to figure it all out… room to fail, and room to discover the majesty of who He was and is… So, I guess I can be thankful today for my struggle to know Jesus and to fight against the winds of this world… One day he will come and stop the winds from blowing, but until then I’ll do my best with what he has given me, even if all I have is just a couple of fish and a few loaves when there are thousands of mouths to be fed.