FAITH IGNITES THE FUSE

. ⁴¹ Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to his disciples to distribute to the people. He also divided the two fish among them all. ⁴² They all ate and were satisfied, ⁴³ and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces of bread and fish. ⁴⁴ The number of the men who had eaten was five thousand. Mark 6:35-44

What is there in this statement that has so much potential and power in it? “He took the five loaves and two fish, lifted His face to heaven in prayer, blessed, broke and gave the bread to the disciples and the disciples in turn gave it to the people.” Is this one of the most powerful keys to answered prayer?

1. Jesus knew the heart of the Father. There was no doubt in His heart that it was in the disposition of the Father to care that the people were hungry.
2. Jesus communicated His confidence in the Father verbally and audibly. He publicly expressed His confidence in His source by giving thanks.
3. Jesus used available and appropriate resources. He didn’t expect God to do magic by turning something that was not bread into bread. He trusted God to work within the boundaries of the natural.
4. Jesus partnered with His disciples in exercising faith and administering what was in His hands. He didn’t sit around waiting for bread to fall from the sky. He used what he had, gave it to His disciples and they gave it to the people. As long as the need remained, they kept going and the resources never ran out.

This entire process began with knowing God and having confidence in Him to meet the people’s need because of His compassion. If this was the way it worked for Jesus on this specific occasion, it will work on any occasion for anyone who has the same confidence in the Father’s disposition of mercy.

How does this apply in the spiritual dimension? Jesus equated Himself with bread – “I am the bread of life.” Just as that small supply of food fed a vast crowd of people as it passed through the hands of Jesus so, when He is shared with people, He satisfies their soul’s hunger and thirst as He is faithfully administered by His people through their lives and their words. But the operative words are “confidence in the disposition of the Father.” Faith ignites the fuse that produces the power.