ESOCS Devotional 1 August 2023
MEMORY VERSE: ““Give and it shall be given to you: good measure, pressed down and shaken together and running over will be put in your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.” Luke 6:38
TEXT: LUKE 9:10-17 (KJV)
And the apostles, when they were returned, told him all that they had done. And he took them, and went aside privately into a desert place belonging to the city called Bethsaida.
11 And the people, when they knew it, followed him: and he received them, and spake unto them of the kingdom of God, and healed them that had need of healing.
12 And when the day began to wear away, then came the twelve, and said unto him, Send the multitude away, that they may go into the towns and country round about, and lodge, and get victuals: for we are here in a desert place.
13 But he said unto them, Give ye them to eat. And they said, We have no more but five loaves and two fishes; except we should go and buy meat for all this people.
14 For they were about five thousand men. And he said to his disciples, Make them sit down by fifties in a company.
15 And they did so, and made them all sit down.
16 Then he took the five loaves and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, he blessed them, and brake, and gave to the disciples to set before the multitude.
17 And they did eat, and were all filled: and there was taken up of fragments that remained to them twelve baskets.
Read Yesterday’s ESOCS Devotional here
The sentence “give them to eat” resulted from the ministry of Jesus Christ to five thousand men who followed him to a mountain side where he went to rest with his disciples. Note that where ever you boast of five thousand men, you must have about ten thousand women and about fifteen thousand children. In general, this crowd of men, women and children must have been about thirty thousand people seeking for him. Some to hear the word of God, others to be healed and many others to eat or have the opportunity for excitement.
Instead of resting as proposed, he was faced with a crowd of people who were under various heavy yoke of the devil amidst a challenging world. Immediately, He woke up from personal weakness and braced up to the spiritual needs of the crowd through the word of God.
In spontaneous spur of the moment, there was no planned provision for the surmounting crowd who only wanted to hear him speak and see him heal the people.
Far from home, hunger was eminent in the desert after noon, not intending to disperse them hungry, He had compassion on them. However, there was no food especially for such gamut of human crowd.
To the disciples or to the physical man, they could never be a solution better than sending them away to take care of themselves in nearby villages. However, to Jesus Christ (he spiritual man) who sees beyond the veil of impossibilities, knows that God who lives in abundance also provides for his children who first and foremost have done his will by listening to his word. Pushing further with the discomforting question, He said how many loaves do you have? Go and see.
The important lesson to learn here is that you may not have millions of naira; present to God what you have and He will multiply it. Check your resources and tell Jesus what you do have? You must have something.
The moment they said to Jesus Christ five small barley loaves of bread and two small fishes from the lunch box of a boy. The law of multiplication started. Before they knew it, the whole crowds were satisfied leaving excess of twelve baskets.
Whatever you desire from the Lord God through his only begotten son first give Him whatever you have in appreciation of what He has done previously. In so doing, the power and anointing for multiplication will be released. You will be so fulfilled with extra for others, that you would marvel and so give thanks to God.
- How do you handle seemingly impossible situations?
- Heavenly father may it please you to develop the deep sea of faith to excel in the ministry.
FURTHER READING: Judges 9:44-end; Luke 9:10-17; Nehemiah 4:15-end; Acts 24:24-end; 25:1-12
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ESOCS Devotional 1 August 2023
