ESOCS Devotional 31 July 2025 – Thanksgiving Engenders Growth and Expansion
MEMORY VERSE: “So Jesus told all the people to sit down on the ground. Then He took the seven loaves, thanked God for them, and broke them into pieces. He gave them to His disciples, who distributed the bread to the crowd.” Mark 8:6 NLT
TEXT: MARK 8:1-21
In those days, the multitude being very great and having nothing to eat, Jesus called His disciples to Him and said to them, 2 “I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now continued with Me three days and have nothing to eat. 3 And if I send them away hungry to their own houses, they will faint on the way; for some of them have come from afar.”
4 Then His disciples answered Him, “How can one satisfy these people with bread here in the wilderness?”
5 He asked them, “How many loaves do you have?”
And they said, “Seven.”
6 So He commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground. And He took the seven loaves and gave thanks, broke them and gave them to His disciples to set before them; and they set them before the multitude. 7 They also had a few small fish; and having blessed them, He said to set them also before them. 8 So they ate and were filled, and they took up seven large baskets of leftover fragments. 9 Now those who had eaten were about four thousand. And He sent them away, 10 immediately got into the boat with His disciples, and came to the region of Dalmanutha.
11 Then the Pharisees came out and began to dispute with Him, seeking from Him a sign from heaven, testing Him. 12 But He sighed deeply in His spirit, and said, “Why does this generation seek a sign? Assuredly, I say to you, no sign shall be given to this generation.”
13 And He left them, and getting into the boat again, departed to the other side. 14 Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread, and they did not have more than one loaf with them in the boat. 15 Then He charged them, saying, “Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.”
16 And they reasoned among themselves, saying, “It is because we have no bread.”
17 But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, “Why do you reason because you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive nor understand? Is your heart [c]still hardened? 18 Having eyes, do you not see? And having ears, do you not hear? And do you not remember? 19 When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments did you take up?”
They said to Him, “Twelve.”
20 “Also, when I broke the seven for the four thousand, how many large baskets full of fragments did you take up?”
And they said, “Seven.”
21 So He said to them, “How is it you do not understand?”
Read Other ESOCS Devotional Here
Christianity has a tendency to produce more grateful and happy people than any other religion on earth. This is because Christians are always conscious of the joy of their salvation. Moreover, salvation attracts joy, and joy attracts gratitude. It follows therefore that one of the easiest ways to backslide is to lose the joy of your salvation. God forbid.
In Psalm 107:1, the Psalmist writes thus: “O give thanks unto the Lord, for He is good: for His mercy endures forever.” Also in Psalm 100:4: “Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise: be thankful unto Him and bless His Name.”
When you are grateful, worry, fear, and anxiety disappear, while a sound mind, courage, power and abundance appear. There is a calmness to life in gratitude, a quiet joy. In fact, gratitude makes sense of our past; brings peace for today, and creates a clear vision for tomorrow. The Lord did not become panicky for the availability of only seven loaves of bread and a few fish, to feed the teeming population. He rather expressed gratitude for what was available, gave thanks to God; then a geometrical multiplication followed free. The four thousand people ate as much as they wanted. Afterward, a left-over of seven baskets were taken home.
What a great way to live? Gratitude helps grateful people to grow and expand. It brings joy and happiness into one’s life, and the lives of all around you (John 11:41). Learn to always make a joyful noise unto the Lord. Always serve Him with gladness and thankfulness. He will in turn enlarge your coast (1 Chronicles 4:10). Besides, and to a great extent, gratitude defines one’s altitude.
CHALLENGES
- Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.
CHALLENGES
- Lord Jesus, teach me to grow into a thankful heart.
FURTHER READING: Jonah 4:1-11; Micah 1:1-16, Mark 7:14-37
ESOCS Devotional 31 July 2025
