Suprising Challenges

John 6:5-- Suprising Challenges

   Is it not true that God uses things, people, circumstances and situations to challenge us?  Somehow we did not think we had signed up for that when we acknowledged Him as Lord and King of our lives.  Yet in today's Gospel we see Philip being tested when he is asked , " Whence shall we buy bread that these may eat?"  Is He testing our motives ?  Perhaps we can relate to the story of the fish :

  " A little fish was swimming around in the ocean, when he came across an older ( and presumably wiser) fish.  ' Excuse me ,' said the little fish. ' You are older than I , so can you tell me where to find this thing they call the ocean? ' The ocean,' said the older fish, ' is the thing you are in now.' ' Oh this?' ' But this is water.  What I'm seeking is the ocean,' said the disappointed fish as he swam away to search elsewhere.' "  as in Hearing with the Heart by Farrington.

    We too like Philip have met Jesus and are wondering why things seem just as difficult as before.  We are already in Jesus and now we have to trust Him for He is our Lord and King!  Note what the Gospel writer says, " And this he said ( Jesus) to prove Him; for He Himself knew what He would do."  We already have all the Spirit and tools we need for the task.  We just need to pause, reflect, pray and trust that God who already knows what He is going to do will do what He has promised.  We are His instruments and we are called to trust Him when we go thru things!

       Secondly, God uses the element of surprise and the smallest things in our lives to meet our situation and its needs.  " One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, saith unto him, There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves and two small fishes.."  What did God feed the children of Israel with in the desert by His power?  " Our fathers did eat manna in the desert."  Of course God made the bread and He by His power gave it to the people out of His creation, but He does some of the same things today, does He not?  We are going along fine and all of a sudden something happens that we did not forsee or plan. ( we are not God ).

        God does provide.  He gives us more than we could ask or think by His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.  He meets our needs in so many and various ways that we if we could count them would be overwhelmed with His love and grace!  Yet we do not see these things by and large, do we?  He gives us His peace which passes understanding in the perplexities and trials and difficulties of life.  If He knows what He is going to do, then why are we sorry worriers ?

        Lastly God shows His power through His Son in giving us all we need in this life and we certainly have all we need for the life to come.  In Him we are complete.  We cannot add to that.  We can keep acting as though this world is all that there is,  or we can realize that one day we shall not be alive anymore and we shall see Him face to face.  Then He will ask, " what did you do for the least of these my brethren?" ( alternate Gospel Matthew 25).  " And Jesus took the loaves; and when He had given thanks, He distributed to the disciples.....therefore they gathered them together, and filled with twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves..."

         Today whatever challenge and test God has put in our paths, your path, remember He knows what He is going to do.  Remember He uses others to provide and they may be the smallest insignificant thing we do not always see right away.  And realize He can provide not only for this life our need,  but He provides in the everlasting bread, the true bread from heaven, Jesus all that we need for the world to come.