Just give it… even the questionable parts
Read time: 6 mins
Philip replied, “Even if we worked for months, we wouldn’t have enough money to feed them!” Then Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up. “There’s a young boy here with five barley loaves and two fish. But what good is that with this huge crowd?”
“Tell everyone to sit down,” Jesus said. So they all sat down on the grassy slopes. (The men alone numbered about 5,000.) Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks to God, and distributed them to the people. Afterward he did the same with the fish. And they all ate as much as they wanted. After everyone was full, Jesus told his disciples, “Now gather the leftovers, so that nothing is wasted.”
John 6:7-12 NLT
Jesus is drawing crowds per usual. Over 5,000 men have called out of work, and left their homes to follow Jesus, some bringing their families along with them. As it starts to get late, Jesus turns to Phillip and asks where they can go to get food for all these people. Whenever you see a question asked by Jesus, it is more for us than for Him and this is no exception. Jesus asks this question to set himself up for a miracle. Philip is understandably logical here. He states that they would need to work for months to even come close to having enough money to get food for this crowd. But this sets the stage for one of the craziest miracles ever. As Philip thinks himself out of faith, Andrew steps up with a dumb idea. Andrew says that he saw a boy with 5 loaves and 2 small fish. I don't know if he knew this boy personally or just spotted him from a distance. Maybe this boy anticipated Jesus and the disciples needing help to accommodate this crowd and just volunteered himself. I don't know how Andrew knew about this boy, but regardless of the heart behind it, it was a stupid idea. A small boy's lunch shouldn’t be a drop in a bucket. This shouldn’t make a dent. This boy's lunch could barely feed a grown man, let alone thousands of hungry families. But the boy was willing to offer, and Andrew was willing to try.
Jesus tells the people to sit down, takes the sack lunch, thanks God and begins to distribute it. This should’ve been a quick endeavor but it lasts much longer than you’d expect as families receive thanksgiving sized plates. Teenage boys go up for seconds and thirds while others hide breadsticks in the purses. The Bible goes on to say that everyone present was more than filled. They ate as much as they wanted. This wasn't a snack. This was a meal you gotta nap off. I wanna say this is when the itis was invented. Everyone wasn't just filled, there was enough to take home because Jesus then tells his disciples to go get the leftovers. The disciples went out to gather what remained and 12 large baskets were left. I imagine this was intentional on Jesus’ part because any good cook knows to pack to go boxes for the servers. From the stupid, inconsequential gift of a boys lunch, thousands of families were fed.
So what does this have to do with you? You may have a desire to help but feel like you have nothing. You may feel like your ideas are too small or your talents are too undeveloped, but little becomes much when you give it back to Jesus. This is your sign to start the ministry you didn't feel good enough to do. This is your sign to pour into the kids who have been needing mentorship. You may look at the platforms, gifts and talents of others and feel like you have nothing to offer. You may look at the problem and feel you have no answers, but if you give what you have to God I promise it will stretch. Your idea can inspire nations. Your story can change generational cycles. Your spark can set a fire.
It was honestly a stupid idea on the part of Andrew and this kid. You may have dreams and passions you can't shake no matter how little sense they make to others. Your friends may not understand and your family may even make jokes. But God put ideas and dreams in you for a reason. I once heard a pastor say that God never gives a vision you can afford. If we believe God can do miracles, we need to stop limiting Him to things we could have done on our own. God can pay for the degree He is leading you to. He can sustain the relationship He is calling you to. He can give clarity to the message He is calling you to and bring understanding the things He is telling you to say. Trust the voice of the Holy Spirit. Even the seemingly dumb ideas He is leading you to do and say.
All you have is all you need. This boy gave all he had, though small, and Jesus turned it into one of the biggest miracles we have ever seen. This boy gave his all, and God gave multiples of it back to him and the people around him.
What I love about this story is that two people try in the face of adversity and see more come from their simple and arguably stupid suggestion than they could ever imagine. They just wanted to help and ended up being a catalyst for a miracle. Andrew spoke up with an idea, and a boy was silly enough to give his lunch.
I struggle with feeling like I'm not smart enough or don't know enough to help people. I’ll shut up in meetings I was purposely called to. I've even struggled to post on instagram because I dont always feel good enough or that my content is refined enough. My friends have yelled at me for turning people down for mentorship when they ask or opportunities to speak or sing places because I feel inadequate. It’s even hard for me to call myself a mentor or a help sometimes because I know how human I am. It’s hard to help because I feel like I need all the answers or to have finished the race before I run with others. But what that mindset does is take God out of the equation. I haven’t helped, inspired or grown anyone on my own. But God has had enough grace and mercy on me to use me. It is because of His hand on my gifts that people have seen light in me or receive even a glimmer of hope and I wanna remind you the same thing. To make it even crazier, the broken, small or embarrassing parts of you are typically what God uses for the biggest miracles. Think about it, you are more inspired by someone who is always real than someone who is always right. You trust the lead of someone who is genuine and humble more than someone who has the dangerous facade of being perfect. You may be like me and know you don't know it all. You may know you’ve made mistakes that could easily discredit you. You may be painfully aware how many people you’ve hurt or balls you’ve dropped. But God uses imperfect people on purpose. God loves to use the people who know they couldn't do this on their own. God's strength works better in our weakness because our weakness keeps us out of the way. God wants the people who know they need Him!
God used a stuttering murderer named Moses to lead a nation. God used a warmongering, womanizing play boy named David for the same thing, and then turned around and used his son. Elijah was suicidal and God pushed passed his mental health and used him! Paul was a contract killer and God chose him! I know we’ve heard this before but when are we going to live like it's true? Give God your all and His strength will fill in the gaps of your weakness. This isn't about you having it all together. It’s about you giving your all to the God who makes buffets out of appetizers. It doesn't matter how young you are! It doesn't matter how many people have overlooked you. It doesn't matter how many mistakes you’ve made. Your brokenness is nothing compared to Jesus. He wants to use you. You may be small but with God fighting you're a powerhouse! Let God use you and just watch to see how many people who are hungry like you get fed!
What parts of you have you been holding back? What ideas, dreams or passions has God given you for a reason? Let Him use it all.
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Thank you for reading. I challenge you to share this is a friend or a few and talk about how you can support each other through dumb ideas. Be a safe place for each other to exercise faith. Thank you for supporting through the donate tab on this website.
