Are You Willing to Let Go for God?
What are you willing to let go of for God? This past week, my daughters and I were studying about the time Jesus fed 5,000 people with just 5 loaves of bread and two fish. It’s a story I’ve heard a million times, but because I was teaching it to my preschoolers, I was able to see it through new eyes. My four-year-old pointed out to me that the little boy in the story actually gave up his lunch. It was such a simple truth – one that I spent the rest of the day pondering.
One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to Him, “There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are these for so many people?” Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. Jesus then took the loaves, and having given thanks, He distributed to those who were seated; likewise also of the fish as much as they wanted. – John 6:8-11 (NASB)
Who was this little boy? Was his family there listening to Jesus as well? The Bible doesn’t say much about him, only that he was a child. It’s also likely that he didn’t come from a wealthy home. Bread made with barley was common for the poor as only the rich could afford fine bread made with wheat. And why did he have five loaves? The amount of food he had certainly seems like a lot for a small boy’s sack lunch. Perhaps it was food for his entire family? Or maybe it was supposed to last him longer than one meal? Again, the Bible doesn’t say much, so it’s hard to say.
As I pondered these questions with my girls, I couldn’t help but think about my 4-year-old’s statement. The little boy in this story gave his food to Jesus, and he had no idea what would become of it. He simply gave all that he had and trusted Jesus.
Am I willing to let go of something I need so that others might be fed?
You see, this little boy gave up his lunch not knowing if he would have to go hungry or not. He didn’t know Jesus would multiply his food and feed the entire crowd. All he knew was that Jesus asked if anyone had food. Was this child seriously the only one out of 5,000 people who had food with him? Or was he simply the only one willing to give what he had to Jesus?
So I began thinking. What is God asking me to give? It’s so easy to hold on to things. We worry that if we surrender something to God, we will somehow go without. That little boy not only ate until he was stuffed, but Jesus used his offering to feed 5,000 people (and the Bible says that number doesn’t include women and children!)
[clickToTweet tweet=”God takes what we surrender to Him and multiplies it to use for His glory.” quote=”God takes what we surrender to Him and multiplies it to use for His glory.” theme=”style6″]
God is in the business of multiplication, and He takes what we surrender to Him and multiplies it to use for His glory. That little boy’s decision affected thousands of life that day, and it probably changed his life forever. He experienced the miraculous provision of God firsthand.
So what is God asking you to give Him? Are you willing to let go and trust Him?
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*Unless otherwise indicated, scripture quotations taken from the NASB.
