"And he left them, got into the boat again, and went to the other side.
Now they had forgotten to bring bread, and they had only one loaf with them in the boat. And he cautioned them, saying, 'Watch out; beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.' And they began discussing with one another the fact that they had no bread.
And Jesus, aware of this, said to them, 'Why are you discussing the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive or understand? Are your hearts hardened? Having eyes do you not see, and having ears do you not hear? And do you not remember? When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?' They said to him, 'Twelve.'
'And the seven for the four thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?' And they said to him, 'Seven.' And he said to them, 'Do you not yet understand?'
Mark 8:13-21
In this story, Jesus has just miraculously multiplied seven loaves of bread and a few small fish into enough food to feed four thousand people, and still have seven baskets of leftovers.
RIGHT AFTER Jesus does this, the disciples get into their boat and realize they only have one loaf of bread because they forgot to bring more, and they start talking amongst themselves about how they don't have enough food. Jesus turns to them and is basically like, "......really?" because He JUST performed a miracle to feed THOUSANDS of people and it's like they for whatever reason still worried about what they were going to eat. As if the One who just fed thousands wouldn't or couldn't feed them, too.
And I always think it's so funny when I read the Word and I come across stories like this, and I am shocked and judgmental of the people in the stories, as if this isn't me, literally all the time. 😂
Like how often do I yell at the Bible characters while reading Old Testament stories about aaallll the times and aaallll the ways that the people of Israel got distracted, got impatient, disobeyed, created new idols, and ultimately extended by YEARS their time in the wilderness because of it? (The answer is, "very often." Like all the time.)
"GOD JUST SAID DON'T WORSHIP IDOLS, WHY ARE Y'ALL PRACTICING IDOLATRY AGAIN?"
oooorrrrr
"GOD JUST PARTED THE LITERAL SEA TO DELIVER YOU FROM EGYPT, HOW COULD YOU BE TRYING TO GO BACK TO YOUR SLAVERY?"
All the while God is probably looking at me like, "really?... Didn't you just have to kill the idol that is social media (again, mind you) and refocus yourself so you could spend more time with me?"
"Haven't you also been tempted to go back to the sin and bondage I've freed you from because it's what you grew used to, what appeases your need for instant gratification or what you're familiar with?"
This story in Mark feels even more relevant to life these days, because adulthood responsibilities are a very real thing and at 28 years of age I really don't know who thought it was a good idea to let me be an adult forreal, but here I am. 🥴 And trusting the Lord to meet our needs can be really hard when things just don't look like they're adding up. Especially when you're in a season of following the Lord in obeying Him about something that maybe looks opposite to what would naturally make more sense, or like a good friend of mine said recently "when what the Lord is calling you to do goes against conventional wisdom."
Faith can be a really challenging practice at times. A lot of times.
When I read this passage for the first time in a while recently, it really hit me differently.
The importance of the practice of remembrance.
Sometimes it's important to practice remembrance even immediately after we just watched the Lord do something miraculous, like the disciples in this story. Jesus is like "didn't you see what I JUST did?" but as human beings, we can be so fickle or easily swayed by what our eyes are seeing despite what our eyes have just seen.
Sometimes it's also hard because we know that God CAN, but we're not always sure whether or not He WILL. And man, that is a wrestling in and of itself. Sometimes we are in wilderness seasons - seasons of stretching, molding, learning and growing and trials and difficulties are heavy. We know that all things work together for our good, we know that none of our heartaches are wasted, and there is a comfort that this knowledge brings us. AND at the same time, it's sometimes hard to know what is just a lack of faith on our part and what is just a season of long-suffering and hardship with purpose.
In any case, both are an opportunity to practice REMEMBRANCE and FAITH. Things don't always work out the way we want them to in the natural world, but our faith is never wasted nor will it ever put us to shame (Romans 10:11). In other words, faith in our God is never a bad choice.
Faith in our God is never a wrong move.
It is good, and it is best, to choose to continue practicing faith, and to continue practicing the remembrance of all that the Lord has been faithful in before - trusting that no matter the outcome of the circumstance at hand, it will all be worked out for OUR good in the end.
And in the meantime, in the midst of long-suffering and hardship, when we get on the boat and the waves start thrashing around us, or when we realize we've made a mistake and we only have one loaf of bread. When we hit a dead end running from Pharaoh with seemingly nowhere to go. When we are in the wilderness and can't find fresh water.
Let us not forget who walks on the waves that thrash around us.
Who multiplied the loaves and the fishes to feed thousands, multiple times.
Who parted the red sea to make a way when there was no way, and who made fresh water come from a rock when the people of Israel needed it the most.
Let us not forget who goes before us and behind us, walks by our side and holds our hand.
I've learned that here is where the key truly lies. It lies in continuing to run back to hold the hand of Jesus when our situations get scary or uncertain. Over and over and over. He will never leave us or forsake us. Nothing falls out of His hands and that thing that you're worried about or fearful of... He truly has it all figured out, and even here, He holds you and sustains you.
留言