FEEDING OF FIVE THOUSAND

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GOD ALWAYS HAS A BETTER PLAN

As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, ‘This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away, so that they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food.’”- Matthew 14:15

Earlier in the scripture, Jesus and his disciples had just completed their missionary work for that day and decided to withdraw from the crowds to a solitary place in order to get some rest. When the crowds found out where Jesus and his disciples were heading on a boat, they ran ahead of them. When Jesus landed, he saw a large crowd waiting for him and he had compassion on them.

The problem started when evening was fast approaching and the disciples went to Jesus with their genius plan. They said, ‘This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away, so that they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food.’

 Looking at what the disciples did is something that we can easily relate to our present time. How many times have we rushed into doing something that wasn’t the will of God? How many times have we gone before God in prayers seeking Him to endorse our plans which in God’s eyes aren’t the best plans?

Very often we tend to force God into working things according to our own plans and timelines without first considering what God has in mind for our life. When we choose to go down this path, our plans usually ends with disappointments and frustrations. Why? Because we didn’t seek His will first, but instead His endorsement. When we seek the will of God concerning every matter in our life, indicates that we surrender the reins over to Him so He may direct our life according to his Will.

‘There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death.’- Proverb 14:12

So many times we have fallen into such traps. When we find ourselves at cross-roads and there’s a decision to be made, we analyze the situation, re-analyze it again and it all feels like it’s the right thing to do, so we dive deep into it only to realize that it wasn’t the right thing to do. Why? Because we didn’t seek God’s will and direction on matters that concerns us. I believe that God really wants to be involved in every matter that concerns us whether big matter or small matter, even the simple things that seems quite obvious to do.

David the king of Israel, when he heard that the Philistines armies were advancing towards the city, he enquired of the Lord. ‘Shall I go and attack the philistines? Will you deliver them into my hands?’ – 2 Samuel 5:19. 
It’s important that we learn the importance of enquiring of the Lord in every matter so that God may direct our paths. As for David, he enquired of the Lord and He gave David the victory that he was seeking. God answered him, ‘Go, for I will surely deliver the Philistines into your hands.’- 2 Samuel 5:19

As with the disciples of Jesus and their plans to send the crowd away, Jesus replied, ‘They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.’ – Matthew 14:16. There was nothing wrong with the plan that the disciples had which was to send the crowd away to the nearest villages to buy themselves food to eat. It all seemed like the best thing to do but Jesus had a better plan.
What the disciples had in mind was to send the crowd away, but Jesus had a miracle in mind. If the disciples of Jesus had managed to send the crowd away, none of them would have witnessed the power and compassionate side of Almighty God; they wouldn’t have known the extent of God’s love. Notice, evening was fast approaching and they were in a remote place. They were in a place you would call, ‘in the middle of nowhere’, and yet God performed a miracle in the most remote part of that region.

God’s power is limitless, it goes beyond borders.

Do you ever feel like you are lost, disconnected, late or forgotten in a ‘remote’ place? The Good News is, God sees you. He knows where you are at and if He can bless you in the city; He can also bless you in the country. When it comes to God, time doesn’t matter, location doesn’t matter, situation doesn’t matter; what matters is: His love and power can still reach you wherever you are. God knows about you and He cares about you. All you got to do is to seek Him and His will.

I pray that we may find comfort in today's scripture. You may find yourself at crossroads, not sure what to do or which way to go and even what you think seems to be a good plan, I would encourage you to always enquire of God's better plan for you and He will direct your path.

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