John 6:5 When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, He said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?”
Philip must have been the mathematician among the disciples. Jesus imposed the question to test him. Philip did a quick mental calculation and said, “It would take more than half a year’s wages to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!” (John 6:7). While Philip was putting the budget together, the other disciples did a quick scan of the pre-packed lunchboxes in the crowd. After searching through the hungry horde, Andrew came back with five loaves and two fishes and insisted, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food.” (Matthew 14:15). All that the disciples saw was the morsel in their hands and the starving multitudes but what they failed to see was the hand of the Multiplier.
When Jesus drops a question in our heart, it is to test our faith and not to check our arithmetical accuracy. The difficult questions should help us see beyond reality and look into the impossibility, through the lens of God. Just looking at our bank balance or recalculating our budget would make us flaccid and flail. Difficult circumstances help us to grow beyond our comprehension and calculations.
When God gives us a mission, He will grant the provision. However, the disclaimer clause to remember is that God is only obligated to support a project that He initiated. He is only obligated to fulfill His vision, not our intuition.
The tests to trust:
1. Bank: When Jesus saw the multitude, He asked Philip a difficult question. A divine commission is always funded by the treasury of heaven. When God questions us, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?”. Our answer most times would also be, “Lord my treasury is empty”. “Be assured, if you walk with Him and look to Him, and expect help from Him, He will never fail you.”― George Müller. God’s projects are funded by God’s bank account, not our bank balances.
2. Budget: Philip must be commended for his quick calculation that he did without a calculator. He came up with the average $/head and extrapolated it into a budget that would feed the multitude a meager meal. We might be excellent accountants but can never precisely calculate God’s resources. The hungry mass was overfed and there were leftovers. They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. (Matthew 14:20). God’s budget far exceeds human calculations.
- Basket: Before the disciples experienced the miracle, they must have collected and displayed the empty baskets to prove to Jesus their forage for food. As Jesus blessed the morsel in His hands, the empty baskets were full. Give the crumbs into His hands and witness the overflowing supply from heaven.
The difficult question about the lack is only to lavish us with heavenly supply.
John 6:6 He(Jesus) asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do.
Prayer: Jehovah Jireh, You are my source and supply for all my needs. Help me to take my eyes away from my bank balance, budget and my empty baskets. Amen.
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