Approaching God with Submission and Thanks

“So Jesus, after raising His eyes and seeing that a large crowd was coming to Him, said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread so that these people may eat?” But He was saying this only to test him, for He Himself knew what He intended to do. Philip answered Him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not enough for them, for each to receive just a little!” One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to Him, “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish; but what are these for so many people?” Jesus said, “Have the people recline to eat.” Now there was plenty of grass in the place. So the men reclined, about five thousand in number. Jesus then took the loaves, and after giving thanks He distributed them to those who were reclining; likewise also of the fish, as much as they wanted. And when they had eaten their fill, He said to His disciples, “Gather up the leftover pieces so that nothing will be lost.” So they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with pieces from the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten.”’ (John 6:5-13, NASB)

Sam and I knew we were going to be married pretty much before we started dating. Somehow, I just knew in my heart from very early on that I was going to be doing this dating thing for the last time with him. We were friends with the intention of dating for a whole summer before we agreed it was time to be boyfriend and girlfriend; by the fall, I knew more about him than anyone else and was sure that I loved him,

By December, we decided to approach my parents about the fact that we were sure about each other and that while it wouldn’t be tomorrow, this was it. I think that freaked my parents out. Sam just started a new job in construction. I just got my license to sell insurance. We were two twenty-somethings still living with parents and didn’t know how we were going to get there. 

My dad went full-send on budgets. How much did I make? How much did Sam make? What were our monthly expenses? How would we make ends meet with all that, plus the expenses of moving out and being on our own? Our answer was, it might be tight at first, but we’d make it work. God would provide.

And I’m sure sitting that day at the kitchen table, with an answer like that to all the world, we looked like a couple of kids. But we knew God was bringing us together, whether or not anyone else wanted to buy in on that fact. 

That’s why I chuckle to myself as I read John 6– with the masses bearing down on Jesus and the disciples, sitting in on His teaching, Jesus asks Phillip how this ministry might be able to feed these people before them. Phillip, being a logical man, starts estimating the people and crunching numbers. He says even two hundred denarii– a whole year’s wages at the time– still wouldn’t cover enough bread for everyone. And the Gospel of John even says that Jesus merely asked this question to test Phillip; to see if he would approach this problem by faith or carnal means. 

That’s not to be down on Phillip. His mind immediately went to problem solve with crunching numbers and earthly administration. But Jesus was willing to teach His disciples lessons alongside the masses, acknowledging their need to mature their faith just as much as those that didn’t travel with Him everywhere He went. Then, Andrew mentions a young boy with fives loaves and two small fish. From here, most people know the story, but Jesus proceeds to take those menial, laughable servings of bread and fish to feed thousands of people to bursting, and there was still enough left over to gather into baskets.

Everyone wants a miracle like this to happen. Whatever our situation is, we pray, “Lord, bless me! Overwhelm me with your provision! Fill my need!” There’s nothing wrong with asking God to provide and asking Him to do something over and above what we can imagine. In fact, Jesus encourages us to pray in this way and put our faith in Him like this. 

But that doesn’t mean we don’t have to come to Him with the right heart. There are some things I notice about how this miracle plays out– how Jesus chooses to work this supernatural meal. Truly, He could have fed the crowd in a plethora of ways, and each way more wondrous than the next. But instead, He multiplies these loaves and fish almost methodically.

First, He tells everyone to sit down on the grass. John mentions that there was plenty of space for this multitude to sit and rest. Essentially, Jesus calls order to this large discombobulation of people. He asks them to sit so there could be some sort of administration of the food. People didn’t just mob the disciples for a plate. They sat, reclined, and Jesus distributed the food as it multiplied almost in a methodical manner.

Next, He gives thanks for the five loaves and the two fish. He thanks God for these humble, menial, lowly means by which this miracle would be done. He was grateful for these barley loaves; barley being a grain that was mainly reserved at the time for animal feed and poor families. He prayed over these two small fish, probably so unimpressive and ordinary that they could be missed if you weren’t paying attention. Jesus was content with these impossible resources, and thanked God for using them as a provision for this crowd.

So what does this mean for us? We should look at this and use it as an encouragement of how we should approach the Lord with our needs. We should first submit to His order. We should surrender our lives to the commands of His Word. We should walk by faith and walk in the righteousness Jesus illuminates to us in His teaching. We cannot expect God to work a miracle when we are living in sin. We should not approach Him looking for a blessing, when our hearts are in chaotic rebellion towards Him. 

And that’s not just limited to our obvious sin. It’s not reserved for simply the disorder we are well aware of. It also extends to those sins that we view as “personality traits” and things that we think we can’t control. We need to make sure we are being led by God. This passage shows a remarkable amount of similarities to Psalm 23. We need to allow our Shepherd to lead us beside still waters and to lie down in green pastures, setting a table before us and willing our cups to run over. 

And once we’ve submitted to God’s order and will, we need to give thanks for the common means by which He provides. I think back on the Sam and Cortney of 6 years ago, sitting at my parents’ kitchen table and trusting that God would provide. Those two people could never provide for themselves the way I know God has provided in the six years that have passed.

It isn’t lost on us that people our age don’t have the blessings we have. We have owned two homes. We have two kids and want to keep growing our family. We’ve moved from New York to North Carolina to Eastern Oregon. We’ve never missed a meal or watched our kids go hungry. We’ve been provided for by our God just in time, every time. And that’s not because we have better faith than the next people. That’s not because Sam is a pastor and we have some sort of more direct line to God to get bigger and better. 

That’s because God is so good. It’s because He makes much out of nothing. He provides beyond what our checkbook, our pantry, or our savings account can ever hope to accomplish. What we as His children have to do is submit to His will and give thanks for the simple means by which He blesses.

My mind also turns to the little boy that bagged a lunch when he left home to hear Jesus teach. There’s no way he could have known that his humble lunch could be used so mightily. But He gave his loaves and his fish to Jesus the Good Shepherd, and He provided for not just the crowd, but for the boy as well. 

His little was much in the hands of Jesus. And his cup ran over and over and over because He trusted God with it.