ESOCS Devotional 28 August 2024 – The All-Sufficient God
MEMORY VERSE: “They all ate and had enough, and the disciples took up twelve baskets of what was left over.” Luke 9:17 (GNV)
TEXT: LUKE 9:10-17
And the apostles, when they had returned, told Him all that they had done. Then He took them and went aside privately into a deserted place belonging to the city called Bethsaida. 11 But when the multitudes knew it, they followed Him; and He received them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who had need of healing. 12 When the day began to wear away, the twelve came and said to Him, “Send the multitude away, that they may go into the surrounding towns and country, and lodge and get provisions; for we are in a deserted place here.”
13 But He said to them, “You give them something to eat.”
And they said, “We have no more than five loaves and two fish, unless we go and buy food for all these people.” 14 For there were about five thousand men.
Then He said to His disciples, “Make them sit down in groups of fifty.” 15 And they did so, and made them all sit down.
16 Then He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the multitude. 17 So they all ate and were filled, and twelve baskets of the leftover fragments were taken up by them.
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Those who come to the Lord and remain with Him will never become helpless in life. They will always get provision. God is the Creator of heaven and earth and the giver of all things (Psalm 24).
In our text, we see that a crowd of people numbering about five thousand men followed Jesus to a lonely place where they not only heard Him preach but also were healed of diverse diseases. They remained in the Lord’s company till it was late in the evening (Luke 9:11-14). Jesus was not bored with their company. He sorted them out.
Truly, God cares about the welfare of those who come to Him and remain committed and faithful. It does not matter the quantum of the trouble and its circumstances. The Omnipotent and all-sufficient God can contain them all (Luke 9:13-17; Psalm 23).
It should be our source of encouragement. If Jesus Christ could be that caring while on earth in the nature of mortal man, how much more caring will He be now that He stands as our advocate and the Lord of lords. Testimonies abound within the Christian fold that God has never failed to stand out to make a way out for those who rely on Him at all times.
We should also not spare whatever we possess to see to effective work in the ministry. We will never record difficulty at last. With God all things end in praise and abundant replenishment. In our text, we see that five loaves and two fishes were invested to carry out the will of Jesus Christ and at the end, “they all ate and had enough, and the disciples took up twelve baskets of what was left”. Each of the twelve disciples had a basket full of fish and loaves for himself. Our labour in God’s service is not in vain. His rewards come in abundance.
- May we live to enjoy the reward of our labour in God’s service.
- I pledge to put in the best of what I am for the progress of your will. Help me unto the end, in Jesus name. Amen
Further Reading: Judges 9:44-end; Nehemiah 4:15-end; Acts 24: 24-end
ESOCS Devotional 28 August 2024
