QT

My quiet time is always satisfying, but some days it just explodes off the page. Today was one of those days.

You know how you read a passage and it just seems all new? Well, I was studying John 6 this morning and that happened to me. I was reading about Jesus retreating to the north shore of the Sea of Galiliee, and the crowds of people who followed him there. As the day drew to an end, Jesus turned to Philp and asked him "Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?"

Hmmm.....I think I just always skipped over that question in my reading and never really gave it enough attention. (Or perhaps I'm just in a place in my life where I am learning something in a new way.) After all, Jesus was the one who could solve the problem, not Philip! Why would He ask that question? Jesus already knew what to do. The next verse (6) says that very thing. He was testing them.

The next verses strike me as really funny.

Philip and Andrew quickly start figuring things out in their head. They calculate and plan and decide that 8 months wages will still not provide enough to feed these people even one meal. Furthermore, they only have five loaves and two small fishes!

I quickly identified with Philip and Andrew this morning. When things are complicated and crazy, I start calculating and planning and figuring out how to solve my problems. It makes me feel better to figure out how much money we need to meet our family budget, or how many cases have to be sold to meet Michael's sales projections at work, or how many committees have to be formed at church to meet every need.

God has truly been working on this issue in my heart for awhile now. I feel blessed to know that I am making progress. Rather than trying to find a practical, do-able, attainable plan, I am first turning to God for a more miraculous solution to my dilemmas. It's just so much easier and rewarding.

Today I picture Christ standing patiently beside Philip and Andrew, just waiting for them to look at Him and say "We don't know! We cannot fix this! But...we know you can! Tell us what to do"!

What a great lesson.