Feeding the 5000. (Courtesy Pixabay)

Editor’s Note: Be encouraged by this guest post from Kim Ellison. It is time for all of us to learn to trust God for our provision.

By Kim Ellison

The things we face in our world today can be frightening. Inflation and out-of-control food and gas prices can bring terrifying thoughts to our minds. How will I pay for gas to drive to work? How will I feed my family if I can’t get to work? How will I pay the rent? The list is never-ending. I want to share a few stories from the Bible that I believe will comfort and encourage you, stories that give us hope

The first story is a great miracle of multiplication. From just two fish and five loaves of bread, Jesus fed over 5,000 people. Amazing, I know. Even though it happened more than 2,000 years ago, Jesus has not stopped doing miracles. He is alive and well and still doing miraculous things today. He can use the little we have and multiply it to meet our needs as He did with the fish and the loaves. So do not fear. Be encouraged. God is more than able to help you, and His desire is to do so.                                                         

The miracle of the multiplication of fish and bread is found in all four of the Gospels. In Matthew’s account, we learn that John the Baptist had just been beheaded (Matthew, chapter 14). When Jesus heard the news, He withdrew by boat to a solitary place. If you recall, John the Baptist and Jesus were cousins. Perhaps Jesus was feeling great sorrow and wanted to be alone in the Father’s presence.

It is easy to overlook that even though Jesus was 100% God, He was also 100% man. He felt sorrow, He grieved, and He got tired. Often times he went off to be alone and pray to the Father to refresh himself. But the crowds followed Jesus everywhere. This miracle occurred during the height of Jesus’ popularity with the people. In John’s account, the people are so enthused after witnessing this miracle that they want to take Jesus by force and make Him their King.

When Jesus first arrived and got out of the boat, he saw the people and had compassion on them, and began to heal their sick (Matthew 14:14). When evening came, the disciples came to Jesus and asked Him to send the crowds away so they could go to the villages to buy food. But Jesus told the disciples to give them something to eat.

Let’s go to the Gospel of John and read his account of this great multiplication of food.

John 6:6-15 (NIV) 

Some time after this, Jesus crossed to the far shore of the Sea of Galilee (that is, the Sea of Tiberias), and a great crowd of people followed him because they saw the signs he had performed by healing the sick. Then Jesus went up on a mountainside and sat down with his disciples. The Jewish Passover Festival was near. 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?” He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do.

Philip answered him, “It would take more than half a year’s wages to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!” Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up, “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?” Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” There was plenty of grass in that place, and they sat down (about five thousand men were there). 

Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish. When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.” So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten. After the people saw the sign Jesus performed, they began to say, “Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.” Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself.

This miracle shows us that Jesus is the MASTER over QUANTITY.  He took a small amount of food and multiplied it to feed thousands and thousands of people.   Jesus is still in the business of doing miracles.  So do not fear.  What God did then, He can do now.  God is our refuge and our strength. He is an ever-present help in times of trouble (Psalm 46:1). 

Freely Give

I believe that when we are generous and give to others, God will meet our needs. We must not be afraid and hold tightly to what we have. It is not the time to hoard our food. It is time to freely give. As we give to others, God will provide for us. The boy willingly gave Jesus his five loaves of bread and two small fish.  He didn’t have a lot to offer, but what he did have, He freely gave.                               

In the natural realm of things, it would not appear as if the little he had to offer would be of much help. But in the hands of Jesus, little is much. Jesus looked up to heaven and gave thanks. A great miracle of multiplication took place. The crowds were fed that day, and there were twelve baskets filled with leftovers. Our God is the God of more than enough. So do not fear in this hour. Look up to heaven, give thanks and share what you do have. God is more than able to do a miracle for you and others.

The Widow Feeds Elijah

God did another amazing miracle of multiplication and provision in 1 Kings 17: 8-16.

There was a famine in the land, and God told the prophet Elijah, to go to the region of Sidon. God had directed a widow there to feed him throughout the famine. Now I don’t know about you, but I think I would find this instruction rather unusual. For one thing, Sidon was not in Israel. It was in modern-day Lebanon. So, Elijah had a bit of a journey, but he knew he had heard from God, so he traveled to the region of Sidon.

When he reaches the town gate, a widow is there gathering sticks. Elijah asks her for some water and a piece of bread. She tells him that she has no bread. Only a handful of flour and a little oil. In fact, she is gathering sticks to prepare a last meal for her son and herself. Then they will die as there is no more food.

Listen to what Elijah said to her in 1 Kings 17:13-14 (NIV)

Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first, make a small loaf of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son.  For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be used up, and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord sends rain on the land.’

So, she went and did as Elijah told her. It is important to note that she was obedient to the prophetic word of the Lord. She could have said, “No way; I don’t have enough to feed you and my son.” But no, she didn’t say that. The widow was generous with the little that she had. Therefore, the flour and the jug of oil did not run dry. It lasted throughout the entire famine. 

This is another wonderful miracle of multiplication. God has the ability and is willing to help His people in seasons of famine, in times of lack, and in difficult situations when there does not seem to be enough. When there is a shortage of food and finances, it is time for a miracle. But notice how God required that she first share the little she had. When she was obedient to do as God said, He did a great miracle of multiplication for her and her son.

The Creditors are Coming

I have one last example to share with you. In biblical times, if you could not pay your debt, often, family members were enslaved to pay the creditors. In this situation, we have another widow who is seriously in need of a miracle. She was in debt, and the creditor was coming to enslave her two sons. Her husband had been from the company of prophets, so she went to Elisha asking for his help.

2 Kings 4:2-7 (NIV)  He (Elisha) said to her, “How can I help you? Tell me, what do you have in your house?” “Your servant has nothing there at all,” she said, “except a small jar of olive oil.” Elisha said, “Go around and ask all your neighbors for empty jars. Don’t ask  for just a few. Then go inside and shut the door behind you and your sons. Pour oil into all the jars, and as each is filled, put it to one side. She left him and shut the door behind her and her sons. They brought the jars to her and she kept pouring. When all the jars were full, she said to her son, “Bring me another one.” But he replied, “There is not a jar left.” Then the oil stopped flowing. She went and told the man of God, and he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debts. You and your sons can live on what is left.”

This is another miraculous example of how God multiplied what little she had to meet her needs. She only had a small jar of olive oil, but she kept pouring oil from it until all the jars were filled. She had so many jars of oil to sell that the money she received not only paid off her debt, but she had extra to live on. God is the God of more than enough. Let Him be the God of more than enough in your life. 

Ask Jesus to be Your Savior

If you have never asked Jesus to be your Lord and Savior, I would encourage you to do so today.  2 Corinthians 6:2 tells us that Today is the day of Salvation. Don’t put it off. We don’t know what tomorrow will bring.  God desires that none should perish.  He loves you with an everlasting love.  He desires to have a relationship with you.  He desires to help you with everything you have need of.

John 3:16-17 (NKJV)

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

If you would like to know Jesus in a more personal way. If you would like to spend eternity with Him, please pray the following prayer and make Him your Lord and Savior.

Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for sending your son, Jesus, to die on the cross for my sins. I thank you that your love for me is great and everlasting. I ask your forgiveness for my sins. Help me turn away from anything that offends you and live my life for you. Jesus, I ask you to be my Lord and Savior.  Please fill me with your Holy Spirit, and help me follow you all the days of my life. In the mighty and matchless Name of Jesus Christ, I pray.  Amen

When we make a decision for Christ, angels in heaven rejoice. (Luke 15:10)

I believe God will do mighty miracles of multiplication as we look to Him in this hour and as we look for His return. Come, Lord Jesus, Come.

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