April 16, 2010
Friday of the Second Week of Easter
By Melanie Rigney
So (the Apostles) left the presence of the Sanhedrin, rejoicing that they had been found worthy to suffer dishonor for the sake of the name. And all day long, both at the temple and in their homes, they did not stop teaching and proclaiming the Christ, Jesus. (Acts 5:41-42)
Wait for the LORD with courage; be stouthearted, and wait for the LORD. (Psalms 27:14)
When Jesus raised his eyes and saw that a large crowd was coming to him, he said to Philip, “Where can we buy enough food for them to eat?” He said this to test him, because he himself knew what he was going to do. Philip answered him, “Two hundred days’ wages worth of food would not be enough for each of them to have a little.” One of his disciples, Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, said to him, “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish; but what good are these for so many?” (John 6:5-9)
Piety
Thy will be done, Lord. I humbly ask for the patience to wait until You reveal it.
Study
We all know how the story’s going to end. Jesus gives thanks, and those five barley loaves and two fish feed five thousand, with twelve wicker baskets left over. It’s easy for us to smile a little at the lack of faith Philip and Andrew exhibit.
But how often do we lack faith ourselves that Jesus has the situation under control? Which is harder:
Feeding five thousand people with five loaves and two fish… or mending a broken heart?
Feeding five thousand people with five loaves and two fish… or providing the balm needed to help us deal with a devastating death?
Feeding five thousand people with five loaves and two fish… or instilling the courage in us to confront Satan when he rears his head in our personal or professional lives?
Jesus always knows what he’s going to do. The challenge for us is in pushing our own protestations away… and letting him work.
Action
Write down three things in your life or the lives of those on your prayer list that you think are impossibly broken. Pray to be open to resolution however Jesus chooses to provide it, and see where these situations are in one month.
