Trusting Him to Multiply

“We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered.
“Bring them here to me,” he (Jesus) said. (Matthew 14:17-18 NIV)

I sit in my little office, sighing over my two small fish and rather dry loaves of barley bread, feeling the futility of the offering in the face of the world’s needs. Do you ever feel that way?

We do the work in front of us,
love the people around us,
stay alert for tiny ways to help someone,
sing an off-key melody of praise . . .

. . . and wonder if we are making a difference.

We often don’t glimpse the results. All the better. We walk by faith. Called to serve–not necessarily to succeed. God is producing fruit, “fruit that will last,” but it is often growing in secret. It’s not for us to tally.

I like to imagine there will be a time in heaven when God will page through a scrapbook with us, and He will trace the impact of some of the simple acts of love we offered. Remind us of the hours of closet prayer we weren’t sure He heard. Show us the second act of the story. How He breathed power and life into a word, a prayer, a gift – and multiplied it until baskets were needed for the leftovers.

It’s a recurring theme in all my novels. God can make a difference through our lives. Not because of our greatness–relying on our own resources would lead to stinky fish and moldy bread. But because of His ability to multiply. To imbue our simple lives with His grace so that we can tear off a piece of barley loaf and pass it to a friend. And they can break the bread and hand it to another. And somehow it doesn’t run out.

Can you sing Him a chorus of praise today, even if your throat is hoarse from tears?

Can you listen to a friend, even if you can’t solve her problem?

Can you pray one more time over a need, even when it seems your prayers bounce off the ceiling?

Can you do the simple act of love that no one sees and no one appreciates?

“We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered.
“Bring them here to me,” he (Jesus) said. (Matthew 14:17-18 NIV)

Jesus may be planning a miracle. Let’s trust Him to multiply.

(adapted from Sharon’s Book Buddy Newsletter, 10/07)

Blessings!
Sharon Hinck

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