Matthew 14:17-18
And they say unto him, We have here but five loaves, and two fishes. He said, Bring them hither to me.

The disciples’ view of the five loaves and two fishes was that they weren’t enough. Their view was that they were insufficient. Their view was that they counted as nothing compared to the great need that there was. But Jesus doesn’t just see what is, He sees what could be. We are too used to only seeing things as they are and not seeing what they could be when placed in God’s hands, what they could become when touched by His power.

What we have is useless until we bring it to the Master. All that we could give on our own would never be enough until He takes it and multiplies it. Anything we have remains unchanged when we hold on to it and try to make it work ourselves. What we have doesn’t go very far and suddenly seems so small when we only see it from our perspective. But with Jesus, there is abundant bread in desert places. In His hands, there is more than enough for a multitude. When His blessings are upon it, our little bit goes a long way.

Let us learn to look at things from a new perspective. Jesus didn’t lead the people out there to starve in a field or faint on the way back. They had come seeking Him, and He always honors us for doing that. But let’s remember that when we can’t see past the here and now, God already has a plan. And when we can’t imagine a provision for a multitude, God can provide a way. And when we think what we have isn’t enough, God can already see the leftover baskets we’ll have at the end. So we need only to place all that we have into the great and powerful hands of our Lord.

Are we facing a big need and looking at what we have thinking it will never be enough? Are we facing something that seems insurmountable and only seeing what we lack? Does what we are facing seem impossible to overcome with only what we have to give to it? Then let us bring our meager supply of loaves and fishes to Jesus. Let us hand over to Him all that we’ve managed to scrape together on our own and see if He might be able to do a little bit more with it. And instead of scoffing at the smallness of what we have and thinking it insignificant, let’s watch with amazement as Jesus takes it and multiplies it above and beyond what we could have imagined.