I’m sure some of you it said, “Don’t just bring problems to the surface; bring also solutions.” There are many ways we can look at this statement. It is fitting for many of us who look only for problems in life or to find those things others are doing wrong. You know what I mean. Those of us who have a critical or condemning spirit would love to show us everything about everyone else that is wrong.
In a way, Jesus had to deal with this in some of His disciples. In Matthew 9:13 He tells them, “You give them something to eat.” He did this after the disciples came to Him telling Him to send the people away before dark so they could find food for themselves.
Jesus responded by saying, “Why don’t you do something?” They responded by telling Him they only had a few loaves of bread and two fish among them. This was not enough, they thought, to feed five thousand people. Still, Jesus said to them, “You give them something to eat.” He did not say give them give them a five-course dinner, but He wanted the people to eat something.
The disciples were looking at the size of the problem and considered a big problem needed an even bigger way to solve it. In their minds sending the people to the towns around them was the best way to ensure they could get something to eat. Or was it really?
Sometimes we are like this today. Sometimes we are too busy to be bothered with the problems of others. Something we are too privileged to let problems people cause for themselves become our problems. Sometimes we think, “You caused it; you fix it.” We find ways to do nothing except point out blame or fault.
When we see our neighbor’s child hungry, do we feed them, or do we criticize the parents for being poor parents? Do we pray, “Lord, fix those worthless parents”, or do we feed the child? Do we see the child’s hunger, or do we see our pride? Do we see the parents’ faults, or do we see our hard hearts?
We should be grateful our Lord is not like we are. Jesus was saying to the disciples, “If you do something with what you have, then I will do what you cannot do.” You do something. When a person is down to their last, Jesus is wondering if we will be willing to give up our last for them? Are we?
Jesus challenges us with the problems we are blessed to see. He wants to see us do something for others from what we have and from what we do not have. He wants to hear us say, “Lord I have done this, and I have done that, but we still have this problem for these people. Please help us.”
Jesus took the little food the disciples had and fed over five thousand people from it. Many of us think He fed them with it, but He fed them from it. With it would mean each person got a tiny crumb of the five loaves and of the two fishes.
But Jesus doesn’t feed us our needs from our lack. He fulfills our needs by using our lack. By using five loaves and two fishes, He was able to multiply that into what was sufficient for everyone to be fed to the full. When you do something, He will what you do and multiply that in ways to completely satisfy the problems you face.
Our role in all this is to do something. When we see a need, let’s be willing to do something by giving all that we can so that when we go to the Lord, He is able to do something more from what we have done. Don’t wait for Him to tell you to do something. Do something. Then tell Him in your prayers for others what you have done.
When you do something, He will work from what you have done to do what cannot be done.
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