God is Enough

When Jesus heard about it, He withdrew from there by boat to a remote place to be alone. When the crowds heard this, they followed Him on foot from the towns. As He stepped ashore, He saw a huge crowd, felt compassion for them, and healed their sick. When evening came, the disciples approached Him and said, “This place is a wilderness, and it is already late. Send the crowds away so they can go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” “They don’t need to go away,” Jesus told them. “You give them something to eat.” “But we only have five loaves and two fish here,” they said to Him. “Bring them here to Me,” He said. Then He commanded the crowds to sit down on the grass. He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed them. He broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. Everyone ate and was filled. Then they picked up 12 baskets full of leftover pieces! -Matthew 14:13-20, HCSB
If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together. - 1 Corinthians 12:26


God has been teaching me lately about how He is enough for me, and I am enough for Him. On Sunday, God brought to my attention the idea that He can make something out of what seems like nothing. I teach Sunday School to preschoolers. We play games and then we read a Bible story together. This week, we talked about the story of Jesus feeding the 5,000. There were definitely more than 5,000 people with Jesus at the time. The census only counted men; there were also women and children in the crowd. That means that there could have been maybe 7,000, or even 10,000 in that crowd. Regardless of the exact number, it was still a LOT of people.

All the disciples had was five loaves of bread and two fish that a little boy decided to share (see John 6:9). In the beginning of this story, the disciples did not even think that the idea of feeding the people was possible. They told Jesus that the crowd was coming, so He had to drive them away so that the crowd could get food. (A side note here: who told the disciples that it was a good idea to tell JESUS what to do?). They did not realize that the food that they had was enough.

Jesus was the one who had to bring the idea to mind. "You give them something to eat," Jesus said. Jesus believed that they had the ability to feed all those people with the little that they had. He had compassion on the people and He thought it would be a great idea to include His disciples in His miracle. They offered to Jesus what they had. "We only have five loaves and two fish." Jesus' only command was "Bring them to me." If there is ever a situation where you feel like it is impossible, the best thing to do is give it over to God. Through the disciples' obedience and the little resources that they had, Jesus was able to feed 5,000 + people, and still have some left over! Think about the little resources (money, patience, faith) that you have, and how God could multiply that to take care of thousands of people!


It's also important to note that God can use people just as much as he could use resources. As it says in 1 Corinthians 12:26, if one member does something, the whole group is affected. This verse is not just talking about your church; it is talking about every single believer in the world! (I will explain more about that in another blog). Even though you may appear significant, your actions and your words can affect the whole world!

Think about the story of Gideon. I love this story because Gideon was the youngest son of the weakest family of the weakest tribe of Israel. He could not get a lower status even if he tried. But God approached him as a mighty warrior. Gideon reminded God that he was a weakling, a nobody, according to the world (as if God NEEDED a reminder). But God promised to be with Gideon; God's presence is enough.

For a long time, I have wrestled with the idea that I am enough for God. I have done a lot of bad things in my past, things that I do not want anyone ever knowing about me. I may appear like I have it all together, but God has definitely redeemed my broken past and made me a new creation in Christ.

There are a lot of times where I feel like God cannot use me. The hardest thing for me is that I feel the call to missions, but I will not even get on a plane. God might be calling me to Cambodia or some place in Asia, but I refuse to go because the flight to each country is about 15 hours (plus the layovers and stuff like that). I want to go to "safer" places, such as Central America, Latin America, or Canada. Regardless, if I believe that God is calling me to be a missionary, I have to get on a plane at some point in my life.

Often I feel like Gideon. I even feel like the five loaves of bread and the two fish. How could God use such a little sacrifice to make such a big difference? God approaches me and calls me "mighty warrior." I'm a mighty warrior? Do you even KNOW me, God? How can God use me to touch the whole world? God knows me better than I know myself, and He sees my true potential even though I appear weak.

Just as it says in 1 Corinthians, I am a part of the body of Christ. Without me, the body can function, but it just isn't the same. My actions and my words affect the whole body. God can use me, even in the smallest way, to edify others. My gift of encouragement can be as simple as complimenting someone's earrings one day, or as complex as writing a book dedicated to helping people reach their full potential as children of God. I am enough for God, and God is enough for me.

Be encouraged, mighty warrior! You might feel weak, but God sees your true potential. Just offer to Him what you have, and He will use it in ways you could have never imagined!