Daily Devotional for October 5, 2016

Matthew 15:32-39
But Jesus wasn’t finished with them. He called his disciples and said, “I hurt for these people. For three days now they’ve been with me, and now they have nothing to eat. I can’t send them away without a meal—they’d probably collapse on the road.”

His disciples said, “But where in this deserted place are you going to dig up enough food for a meal?”

Jesus asked, “How much bread do you have?”

“Seven loaves,” they said, “plus a few fish.” At that, Jesus directed the people to sit down. He took the seven loaves and the fish. After giving thanks, he divided it up and gave it to the people. Everyone ate. They had all they wanted. It took seven large baskets to collect the leftovers. Over four thousand people ate their fill at that meal. After Jesus sent them away, he climbed in the boat and crossed over to the Magadan hills.

Scripture quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson.  Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO.  All rights reserved.

After the Arkansas Razorbacks defeated Alcorn State on October 1st, Coach Bret Bielema settled in to revel in the victory with his wife, Jen.  The relaxation and celebration were short-lived. While dining out, the Bielemas received a call from Marty Ragnow, mother of Frank Ragnow, an offensive lineman for the Razorbacks.  Frank Ragnow’s 50-year-old father, Jon, had suffered a heart attack and died…and Marty wanted Coach Bielema to be with Frank when she delivered the news.

Bret Bielema found Frank Ragnow and sat with him as he took the devastating call from his mother.  And then Bret and Jen Bielema arranged for a flight to Minnesota for Frank Ragnow to return to his family – and they went along.  The Bielemas did not have to do this.  Surely they had other things on their agenda. But Bret Bielema understood how important this was…because teammates had crammed into a van to accompany him home from Iowa when his sister, Betsy, died.  Bret Bielema had subsequently traveled with other players to the homes of their grieving families when tragedy struck. While this might seem like “more than enough”…Bielema knows that it is simply the right thing to do.

There is a lesson here for us as Christians.  When is it “more than enough”…and what does this really mean?  Jesus knew that the people who had followed Him were not just hungry – they were famished.  They had gone without food for three days.  So Jesus did what He could…He took the seven loaves and a few fish, gave thanks to God, and started to feed the people.  And in the end, there was more than enough food for everyone.

Didn't Jesus do the math?  Why didn’t the rations come out exactly even?  After all, we’re talking about the Son of GOD here!  To me, there are two points to this “excess.”  1)God is showing us that He can do abundantly and exceedingly above all that we ask for or anticipate; and 2)Jesus seems to be demonstrating that we should go the extra mile…do all we can and trust God BIG for miracles and blessings – so big that we end up with more than enough.  We should go above and beyond and over the top - and never offer just what is “adequate.”

It would have been “adequate” for Bret Bielema to sit with Frank Ragnow, hug his neck, and maybe arrange for a flight home.  But not only did Bret Bielema do more by physically traveling to Minnesota with this young man…his wife, Jen, went along, too!  How often do we drop what we are doing to meet the needs of someone else?

Surely Jesus was tired that day at Lake Galilee.  I have no doubt that He was weary from teaching, healing and traveling.  But Jesus stopped to show love and concern for His people and their profound hunger…and then He FED them!

Are we feeding the people in our midst?  Are we ready and willing to drop everything and minister to someone else?  Will we faithfully look in the basket of seven loaves and a few fish and believe that we can meet the needs of more than 4000 people – and have “more than enough” left over?

Will we serve God above and beyond our ability and what seems to be the obvious disconnect – and deliver “more than enough?” Don’t you think we should?

©2016 Debbie Robus