Monday, February 18, 2013

How Soon I Forget


written by Eric Varghese

Text: Jesus feeds the four thousand (Mark 8:1-10)

This is the passage that was preached on in our Church yesterday. As we have gone through the book of Mark, one of my favorite chapters has been Mark 6. Jesus sends out his disciples on a missionary journey with nothing but a staff for protection. No extra clothes, no itinerary, not even money to buy food. The disciples come back and declare all the miracles that they did and how God supplied all of their needs.

Not long after this endeavor Jesus and his disciples come to an interesting situation. Thousands of people following Jesus through the day and now at the close of the day they are hungry. Jesus who had supplied all the disciples earthly needs through the missionary journey asks them to satisfy the need of hunger for the crowd. The disciples think through the logical choice, what if we buy food for all of them? Well that would take 8 months wages from jobs we don't have to feed them! How soon they had forgotten their missionary journey, forgotten how Jesus had protected them, provided for them, and worked through them. Jesus ends up using the lunch of a little boy to feed the more than five thousand.

Fast forward two chapters and we come to an eerily similar situation. The great crowd is following Jesus, being without food for 3 days and Jesus again has compassion on them. Like before, they are in a desolate place where there is no chance to get food; Jesus asks the disciples to provide food. The disciples answer, "How can one feed these people with bread in this desolate place?" In my mind I shake my head at the disciples, come on guys, you just went through this! The correct response is, "Jesus we only have seven loaves and a couple fish, but we know that you can do a miracle, have enough to feed these people, and have left overs!"

Jesus does the exact same miracle, same food just different amounts. This time a little less people, there were only four thousand men. It's easy for me to be self righteous, holy and to look down my turned down nose at the disciples. There is a reason this blog post is titled how soon I forget. Just like the disciples I see the mighty hand of God working, even just the day before, and yet I am anxious for the coming day. Phil 4:6 tells us to be anxious for nothing but bring our prayer request with thanksgiving to God. The cure for anxiousness is remembrance, the confidence in our requests is thanksgiving. I believe we are asked to bring our requests with thanksgiving so we don't forget how God has guided and provided for us thus far. So we don't forget our previous request and how God answered them.

I pray that through the upcoming life "situations" I would not forget, not be anxious. Always remembering the provision of God in my life so far and ask with confidence, ask expecting a response. Sometimes through miracles, and other times through closed doors. Let me never forget the care of God through these miracles or closed doors.

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