Five thousand families had gathered to hear the Lord Jesus and towards the end of the afternoon they were hungry.  It was a wild and lonely place with no nearby town where the disciples could purchase supplies.  So, Jesus sent them off to find out how much food the people had brought with them.  The response hardly represented a banquet!  John tells us that the only supplies were a young boy's lunch picnic (John 6:9), which he was willing to give to Jesus.  It was a pitifully small amount, but that is how God often works – indeed, if we could do everything with our own resources, we would not need Him ... or worse ... we might think that we were as good as Him.

Clearly the disciples were not impressed with the potential (John 6:9).  However, they demonstrated some faith in Jesus by obediently getting the crowd to sit down in orderly groups - although they had no idea what He was about to do.  But that is the nature of faith; we move in obedience to God, and then He moves in Sovereign power.  The result was astonishing. Not only did five thousand men (plus women and children) have something to eat (Mark 6:44) but they were fully satisfied (Mark 6:42).  And, the hard-working disciples had a whole basket of left-overs each for themselves!

What lesson was the Lord Jesus teaching His trainee Apostles?  The scale of God's kingdom is not related to the small scale of our contribution to His service in any way.  Sometimes we can contribute nothing, and the Lord does it all (Exodus 16:14-18).  But more often He uses something or someone who is available (1 Kings 17:4;  1 Kings 17:9).  Isaiah was willing to be God's servant (Isaiah 6:8); the widow gave the last of her savings (Mark 12:41-44); Barnabas sold his field and gave the money to support ministry (Acts 4:37); the Corinthians gave some of their weekly earnings (1 Corinthians 16:2).  As the suffering of one Man, Christ Jesus, brought redemption for all who would trust in Him (Romans 5:15), so the labours and suffering of a few apostles established the church (Colossians 1:24) which continues to grow as new people and new resources are multiplied by the Lord who is still building His church (Matthew 16:18).

When God wants to demonstrate His power, there is nothing He cannot do (Jeremiah 32:27)!  So why do we limit Him?  There are times when our logical minds and seasoned experience is not what God is looking for.  When He wants us to learn lessons of faith, He calls us to step outside of what we can control.  That way we realise how small we are, and how great He is.  Then He acts powerfully to glorify Himself (and stir our praise) so that we can grow in faith as He grows His church.  So, what do you have that the Lord wants to use – your money, possessions, skills, and availability?  However small it may seem to others, if it is significant to you, the Lord can multiply the scale of its usefulness.  Perhaps He is speaking to you about that at the moment ... don't be frightened that you cannot understand everything - He does!