Matthew 14:16-21 (Today’s New International Version)
Jesus replied: “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.” They answered, “We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish.” He said, “Bring them here to me.” And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children.

Five loaves of bread and two fish. That’s all they had to feed well over 5000 men, women, and children. In John’s gospel, he includes the detail that this food was a small meal brought by a boy in the crowd. That young man must have been very hungry after a long day. When asked to volunteer his dinner, he might have thought, “My food isn’t enough for all these people, but it’s certainly enough for me! I’ll just keep it to myself. No one will know!”

So often in life, we focus on what we don’t have and worry about keeping what we do have. But with that attitude, we can miss the fact that when a problem is too big for us to handle on our own, that’s a perfect opportunity for God to step in.

So we can bring it all to Jesus: our talents, our abilities, our gifts, our resources, our hearts, minds, and souls. And God will make so much more of it than we could ever accomplish on our own!

Question:
When you are faced with a challenge, do you feel inspired? Frightened? Invigorated? Disheartened?