Feeding the Five Thousand

12 August 2009

When Jesus went ashore, He saw a large crowd, and He felt compassion for them because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and He began to teach them many things.
When it was already quite late, His disciples came to Him and said,
“This place is desolate and it is already quite late; send them away so that they may go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.”
But He answered them, “You give them something to eat!”
And they said to Him, “Shall we go and spend two hundred denarii on bread and give them something to eat?”
And He said to them, “How many loaves do you have? Go look!”
And when they found out the said, “Five, and two fish.”
And He commanded them all to sit down by groups on the green grass. They sat down in groups of hundreds and of fifties. And He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up toward heaven, He blessed the food and broke the loaves and He kept giving them to the disciples to set before them; and He divided up the two fish among them all. They all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up twelve full baskets of the broken pieces, and also of the fish. There five thousand men who ate the loaves.
(Mark 6:34-44)

Jesus’ feeding of the five thousand has become especially relevant and meaningful to me as I feel the effects of the recession. As I pray for God’s perfect provision over the Green house, I find hope and peace in this parable and Jesus’ message: “Don’t worry, I know exactly what you need, and I will provide.”
In the two weeks since my summer teaching contract ended, I found myself searching EDJOIN (the online job posting site for teachers) and applying to any English position I could find. This amounted to two positions, both of which I have not heard back from. Reconciled to the fact that in the fall I would complete my last semester of student teaching in a traditional setting (in a classroom with a master teacher and without pay), Ryan left for New Brunswick, Canada to shoot for Travelscope and promised to plan out our imminently tight budget. Little did we know that God knows our needs and already had made our budget planned out.
On my way in to see my doctor, I received a call from Burbank Unified’s district office. The HR personnel asked if I would like to interview that afternoon for a long-term English teaching position this fall.
“Yes,” I responded with enthusiasm.
Today, I found out I got the position. This fall I will teach English 10, 11, and 11 Honors starting on Monday.

Last night, I could not sleep in anticipation of hearing whether or not I got the job so I caught up on my Bible reading (Ryan and I committed to reading through the Bible this year and have a daily reading plan. I was three days behind in the book of Mark). I turned to Mark chapter 6 and began reading. As I read about Jesus feeding the five thousand, I remembered Beth Moore’s teaching on the parable and how she pointed out that Jesus did not simply give the crowds what they needed, but He:
1. Made them aware of their need.
2. He took what little they had.
3. He placed them in a posture to rest in His provision by commanding them to “sit down.”
4. Then, He gave them more they could ask for or imagine.
(Moore, Beth. Living Beyond Yourself. Nashville: LifeWay Press, 2004.)

God promises to provide for our basic needs and today I want to praise Him for fulfilling that promise to Ryan and I. Not only will I make more in these next three months than I make in a six months, but we will get benefits too. Ryan’s eyes have been bothering him and he asked me to look into an appointment for an eye exam for when he gets back. We do not have eye coverage, but NOW we do! Also, with this increase in income I will not have to take a loan this fall to pay for my last semester of school and we will be able to save lots to go abroad next summer! God knows exactly what we need and He pours out His provision in abundance.

Now, I need your prayers as I begin a new year. I am thrilled and completely terrified.