I just love how Jesus fed 5000 people with two fish and five loaves of bread. We think 5 plus 2 is 7. But God’s way of thinking is way different, way bigger, and way better. What was the secret of Jesus?

Then Jesus took the bread. When he had given thanks, he distributed it to those who were sitting there. He did the same with the fish, each getting as much as they wanted.When they had plenty to eat, he said to his disciples, “Gather up the leftover pieces, so that nothing will be wasted.” So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves that had been left over by those who had eaten. (John 6:11-13, CEB)

Jesus remembered to give thanks. Then the miracle happened. Do we remember to give thanks in the midst of hardships? Do we praise God when nothing makes sense? Do we thank God even when we don’t have enough? Maybe we should make a revolution of thanksgiving. Then we could expectantly wait for miracles.

When the people saw that he had done a miraculous sign, they said, “This is truly the prophet who is coming into the world.” Jesus understood that they were about to come and force him to be their king, so he took refuge again, alone on a mountain. (John 6:14-15, CEB)

It’s great that we recognize that God is all powerful and Jesus is the Holy One of God. But we need to be careful that we don’t try to manipulate God to be what we want him to be. Just like the people in the Bible story. They wanted to make Jesus a political king who would free them from the Roman rule. We should not look for Jesus to fill our egoistical whims and wants either.

We can’t force Jesus to behave the way we want. We can’t use God for our own purposes. We need to stop trying to use God. Because God is not an idol that we can manipulate. Because God is God and we are not. We can’t ever make him to do anything he does not want to do.

Yet we can trust that God is good and he wants good things for us. But according to his plan not our agenda. We can rest in the knowledge that his plan is perfect. Hence we need do the only thing we really can do: surrender our egos and our agendas. But when we do that, we are truly blessed. Not materialistically. But eternally. Thank you, Jesus!

 

Gracious God,
Forgive us for trying to manipulate you
for our own purposes.
Enable us to see the world with your eyes.
Empower us to love the world with your heart.
Equip us to share the words of eternal life with the world.
Thank you for always being with us.
Be praised in every situation.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen

Q4U: Have you caught yourself trying to manipulate God to think your way?

Be blessed, my fellow pilgrim, as serve with a surrendered heart!

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Image courtesy of ochristian.com. Linking up today with Thought-Provoking Thursday, Faith-filled Fridays.