Matthew 14:13-18, "When Jesus heard it, He withdrew from there privately in a boat to a solitary place. But when the crowds heard of it, they followed Him [by land] on foot from the towns. When He went ashore and saw a great throng of people, He had compassion (pity and deep sympathy) for them and cured their sick. When evening came, the disciples came to Him and said, this is a remote and barren place, and the day is now over; send the throngs away into the villages to buy food for themselves. Jesus said, They do not need to go away; you give them something to eat. They said to Him, We have nothing here but five loaves and two fish. He said, Bring them here to Me."
When I read Matthew 14 today, many different things stood out to me, but I decided to pick it up at verse 13. Jesus had just heard of the terrible news about John the Baptist being beheaded, so He was going to a solitary place. As he was going to the solitary place, though, the crowds followed Him.
Here's Jesus, struggling with His own problems. He just received awful news, yet when other people reached out to Him, He didn't push them away with the excuse that He just needed some space or even some time. He instead had compassion on them and "cured their sick" (found in verse 14).
What I see about Jesus in this passage is a selfless heart. He had His own stuff going on, but He saw that other people did too. He was able to look outside of His own little world and see the bigger picture.
When evening came, the disciples were ready to get rid of the throngs and have them go get their own food, but Jesus said, "They do not need to go away; you give them something to eat." Here's the disciple's response, "We have nothing here but five loaves and two fish."
This leads into something else that stood out.
When we have people in our lives who have a need, we tend to say, "I'm sorry. I'll be praying for you." I'm not trying to downplay prayer, but what are we doing to do our part if we see someone in need and say, "Go find your own food."? Praying for someone is very necessary, but we need to not use that as a "Get Out Of Having To Help" card.
We reason that we only have enough money for our basic necessities this month. We only have a little bit of time. We'd do that if only we were gifted in that area.
You know what God's response is to our "only" excuses? He says, "Bring what you have here to Me."
Are you going through some stuff of your own today? Me too! I have one excuse after another of why I should be off the hook from helping people today. "I'm living on four and a half hours of sleep." "I have a ton of cleaning to do myself." "It's been a busy day already." "I just don't have time."
Jesus could've used all of those excuses and many more, yet He chose to live above Himself.
Do you think that what you have to offer is only a little bit anyway, so what's the point?
Even if it's only a little bit, give it to God and watch what He can do with your "little bit".
Dear Heavenly Father,
This entire chapter is full of examples of your life that I need and desire to live by. I see very early in this chapter, though, that I will fail miserably at being like You if I am trying to do so in my own power. Lord, today I feel that I only have little bits to bring. I have my own life's stuff happening today, but quite honestly, everybody does. I pray that You'll use my "little bits" for great things today as I reach out to those You put in my life. Help me be able to see past my own little world. Finally, when someone is in need, help me know how it is that You want me to help. Help me not use prayer as a "Get Out Of Having To Help" card.
In Jesus' Name.
Amen.
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