But he said to them, “You give them something to eat.” They said, “We have no more than five loaves and two fishunless we are to go and buy food for all these people.” (Luke 9:13 ESV) One of the first things that happened to the disciples after they returned from their baggage free adventure was going to a remote area (the countryside) and do the impossible: feed 15,000~20,000 people without a McDonalds open. It’s funny when we begin to let go of our baggage we face these types of impossibilities and feel trapped from the insurmountability of it and want nothing more than to run back to our baggage. You don’t think the disciples were thinking, “boy I wish I had my other tunic, I know I had a five shekel in the blue one…” Of course they were thinking that. I’m thinking that and so are you. Yet, this is life isn’t it? These are the times when we begin to grow, aren’t they? In these occasions, which we often find ourselves proverbially noosed in, we can chose to either run away– back to our comforts and baggage; or we can tackle the situation by looking for solutions outside our neatly stacked boxes. Jesus is always going to prod us to do the latter. He tells his disciples to do the latter. The disciples complain and say that there is nothing for them to do but send people away. Yet, Jesus says there is another way. The way Jesus sees pushes the disciples to their wits end and forces them to grow. We can never grow ourselves without being forced to grow and stretch beyond our current abilities. Likewise, our faith cannot grow in God without us making the intentional choice to trust God more with what we desperately cling toward. For some of us, that is going to church for the first time. For others it may be giving up our skepticism and doubt to believe something you can’t see or feel. For others still, it may be giving up a comfort or security, to see where God leads you in a new school, job, relationship, or just freedom from a mundane life. Today we need to stretch our abilities and our faith alike. We need to stop making excuses and face the call on our lives to do the impossible task God set before us. Then we need to trust in God through our obedience and submission to do what only God can do with our circumstances. For the disciples on this day, “they all ate and were satisfied. And what was left over was picked up, twelve baskets of broken pieces” (Luke 9:17 ESV). Are you ready to stretch your abilities?
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