4 January, Tuesday — Active Anticipation

Tuesday after Epiphany Sunday

1 Jn 4:7-10
Mk 6:34-44

“Give them something to eat yourselves.”

I just love the story of the ‘Feeding of the Five Thousand’! I know that the five thousand just refers to the men who were present, and did not include the women and children also present at the miracle. 

I love how our Lord can understand what we need, and take our existing resources and multiply them manifold to meet our needs! I have seen this happen in my life too. Often, I have caught myself thinking “it is not enough”, or “I am not enough”, only to have been proven wrong. Resources magically become “enough”.

However, when I read the passage, a new message popped up; in the midst of our Lord performing the miracle of the multiplication of loaves and fish, it occurred to me that the disciples and people had their part to play!

Firstly, the disciples had to “go and see” how much food was available, gather the people in groups and have them sit down in these groups. They then had to distribute the broken loaves and fish, and finally, when the meal was done, collect the remaining food into twelve baskets.

As for the masses, everyone had to listen and follow instructions. They probably would have had to keep quiet, and be patient as the disciples got everything ready, distributed the food, etc.

What hit me was this — as the Lord makes the best of what we have to offer Him, we have our part to play. We need to hold space for Him, to be quiet, obedient and open to His instructions. We need to put in our fair share of effort and work. 

In essence, trusting in our Lord does not mean just sitting back and doing nothing. It does not mean we get to idle passively. Let us be mindful of that as we allow our God to continue to work wonders in our lives!

(Today’s OXYGEN by Paul Wee)

Prayer: Dear Lord, we pray that we understand and know what we need to do to prepare as we wait for Your hand in our lives. Teach us to be active participants in Your will for us.

Thanksgiving: We praise and thank you Jesus, for Your many miracles in our lives. Help us to always be on a continued lookout for opportunities to be grateful to You!