My husband and I were hosting a team of people who desired to increase their knowledge of providing ministry.
“Do not eat the spaghetti,” my husband whispered as he pulled me aside. “We will eat peanut butter and crackers once everyone leaves. Let’s feed them first, small servings. Hopefully there will be enough for those who are here for ministry.”
That is exactly what we did—well, almost. We fed everyone. Then, they had seconds. Then, my husband and I ate spaghetti.
The next day, we ate peanut butter and crackers for breakfast, spaghetti for lunch and dinner. This went on every day for a week.
The day we ran out of spaghetti, a friend showed up at the door. She did not know about our lack of food. We had told no one. Yet here she was with three paper sacks full of groceries.
I know it sounds crazy, but it really did happen just like that. My story is not so odd. When we look at God’s Word, we see this has happened before.
John 6:1-15
After this, Jesus crossed over to the far side of the Sea of Galilee, also known as the Sea of Tiberias. A huge crowd kept following him wherever he went, because they saw his miraculous signs as he healed the sick. Then Jesus climbed a hill and sat down with his disciples around him. (It was nearly time for the Jewish Passover celebration.) Jesus soon saw a huge crowd of people coming to look for him. Turning to Philip, he asked, "Where can we buy bread to feed all these people?" He was testing Philip, for he already knew what he was going to do. Philip replied, "Even if we worked for months, we wouldn't have enough money* to feed them!" Then Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, spoke up. "There's a young boy here with five barley loaves and two fish. But what good is that with this huge crowd?" "Tell everyone to sit down," Jesus said. So they all sat down on the grassy slopes. (The men alone numbered about 5,000.) Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks to God, and distributed them to the people. Afterward he did the same with the fish. And they all ate as much as they wanted. After everyone was full, Jesus told his disciples, "Now gather the leftovers, so that nothing is wasted." So they picked up the pieces and filled twelve baskets with scraps left by the people who had eaten from the five barley loaves. When the people saw him* do this miraculous sign, they exclaimed, "Surely, he is the Prophet we have been expecting!"* When Jesus saw that they were ready to force him to be their king, he slipped away into the hills by himself.
OPEN VERSE IN BIBLE (nlt)
tells the story of Jesus feeding five thousand men, plus women and children, with nothing but one boy’s lunch: five loaves and two fish. What an amazing miracle!
In 1 Kings 17:8-16
Then the LORD said to Elijah, "Go and live in the village of Zarephath, near the city of Sidon. I have instructed a widow there to feed you." So he went to Zarephath. As he arrived at the gates of the village, he saw a widow gathering sticks, and he asked her, "Would you please bring me a little water in a cup?" As she was going to get it, he called to her, "Bring me a bite of bread, too." But she said, "I swear by the LORD your God that I don't have a single piece of bread in the house. And I have only a handful of flour left in the jar and a little cooking oil in the bottom of the jug. I was just gathering a few sticks to cook this last meal, and then my son and I will die." But Elijah said to her, "Don't be afraid! Go ahead and do just what you've said, but make a little bread for me first. Then use what's left to prepare a meal for yourself and your son. For this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: There will always be flour and olive oil left in your containers until the time when the LORD sends rain and the crops grow again!" So she did as Elijah said, and she and Elijah and her family continued to eat for many days. There was always enough flour and olive oil left in the containers, just as the LORD had promised through Elijah.
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we find Elijah, a widow, and her son in the village of Zarephath. There was a drought, and Elijah was sent by God to the widow. He asked her to make him a little bread before she made any for herself and her son. Because she did as he asked, she and her son always had enough flour and oil throughout the remainder of the famine.
In all three of these stories, no one thought there would be enough food. Yet in each situation, the food was given to others first, then the miraculous happened: God multiplied it.
God is so faithful that even though the owners of the food never asked God to multiply it, He did it anyway. There is no mention of the widow asking or believing for the multiplication. She simply obeyed the prophet. The same is seen when that little boy gave Jesus his lunch. He simply handed it over. Then there’s my husband. He believed we would run out of spaghetti, but we fed everyone to their fill and then we ate.
The result in all three cases was abundance. Each story ends with more than enough. There were twelve baskets of leftovers from the loaves and fish. The widow had oil and flour until the crops grew. The spaghetti fed us until the three paper sacks full of groceries arrived. God provided more than what was needed.
These three stories show us the true character of God. He loves us and wants to bless us. He instructs us to seek Him and obey Him so we can receive from Him. This truth is found in Mathew 6:33 (NLT):
Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.
When we seek Him, He will give us abundance. God did this for King Solomon. 1 Kings 3:3-14
Solomon loved the LORD and followed all the decrees of his father, David, except that Solomon, too, offered sacrifices and burned incense at the local places of worship. The most important of these places of worship was at Gibeon, so the king went there and sacrificed 1,000 burnt offerings. That night the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream, and God said, "What do you want? Ask, and I will give it to you!" Solomon replied, "You showed faithful love to your servant my father, David, because he was honest and true and faithful to you. And you have continued your faithful love to him today by giving him a son to sit on his throne. "Now, O LORD my God, you have made me king instead of my father, David, but I am like a little child who doesn't know his way around. And here I am in the midst of your own chosen people, a nation so great and numerous they cannot be counted! Give me an understanding heart so that I can govern your people well and know the difference between right and wrong. For who by himself is able to govern this great people of yours?" The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for wisdom. So God replied, "Because you have asked for wisdom in governing my people with justice and have not asked for a long life or wealth or the death of your enemies— I will give you what you asked for! I will give you a wise and understanding heart such as no one else has had or ever will have! And I will also give you what you did not ask for—riches and fame! No other king in all the world will be compared to you for the rest of your life! And if you follow me and obey my decrees and my commands as your father, David, did, I will give you a long life."
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is the famous story. Solomon sought the Lord asking for wisdom and understanding. God gave him both, and so much more.
I will give you what you asked for! I will give you a wise and understanding heart such as no one else has had or ever will have! And I will also give you what you did not ask for—riches and fame! vv. 12-13
May we always remember to trust God. Even in times of apparent lack, He is faithful.
Lina began working in the CBN Prayer Center in 2009. She enjoys spending time with her sons, their wives, and her grandchildren. Lina loves sharing Jesus with anyone who will listen, and her favorite Scripture is Zephaniah 3:17.
When someone would hint at taking away what I feel is my liberty, there is a side of me that wants to fight for my right, proving the correctness of my view.
