Daily Devotional for August 9, 2011

John 6:1-6
Jesus crossed Lake Galilee, which was also known as Lake Tiberias. A large crowd had seen him work miracles to heal the sick, and those people went with him. It was almost time for the Jewish festival of Passover, and Jesus went up on a mountain with his disciples and sat down. When Jesus saw the large crowd coming toward him, he asked Philip, "Where will we get enough food to feed all these people?" He said this to test Philip, since he already knew what he was going to do.

Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.

Have you ever been in a dilemma, and you prayed, “LORD, what is going to happen?” You asked this question in a state of worry… as in, “How will I ever get out of this mess?” or “How can there possibly be a good outcome in this situation?” Now let me ask you this… later, when you looked back at how well things actually did come together… and how beautifully God orchestrated it all… weren’t you a little embarrassed at your lack of faith? Didn’t you feel a little foolish for wringing your hands and being so doubtful?

I think that God sometimes allows us to behave like this. I think that He often plants these questions in our heads just to see how we will react… and whether our faith is strong. I believe He teaches us in these moments… and yes, embarrasses us a bit, so that the next time around, we’ll remember how generous He is to us. Hopefully, we will remember that God is faithful to keep His promises and meet our every need.

I also find it funny that in this particular instance, God not only fed all of the people… he provided leftovers. That’s how God operates… in abundance. Not only do we look back and see that He met our needs and answered our prayers… in many instances, He exceeded what was promised and expected!

My challenge today is for us to begin to operate more in faith… to be able to answer the “test questions” with confidence that “all will be well - with God in control.” We say we can do all things through Christ Jesus, who strengthens us… now it’s time to really prove it. When Jesus asks you a test question, will you give the right answer?

©2011 Debbie Robus

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