Go and Find Out

“How much food do you have – go and find out.”

These are the last words weary, hungry, frustrated men want to be doing. They were all excited to get away with Jesus and share with him all about their adventures. But as they’ve slipped away to a quiet place, hoping to relax in the beauty of Galilee, along the lakeshore with great food and fellowship - once again the throng of desperate men and women overwhelmed them – running ahead of them to meet their boat as it landed on shore. Jesus took time to teach the crowds for he had compassion on them – he saw them as sheep without a shepherd.
The disciples – well, they only seemed – disappointed. The disciples came and politely to Jesus that he dismiss them to go and find food at this late hour. Jesus merely replies: “You feed them.”
As they look around at an endless sea of hungry faces, one of the disciples calculates the potential cost – “But that’d take 8 months wages – a small fortune.”
Translated: impossible! “Uh Jesus, we have no food, no money and more than 5000 hungry mouths!”
“How much food do you have – go and find out.”
Jesus isn’t asking them to go find a fortune or go raise a fortune or even to figure out how to acquire the resources to mass produce the bread needed to feed the crowd. His request is to take inventory. “Go and find out what you have.”
So much of our “going” with Jesus is so much like this: Abram was told – “Go to a land I will show you.” No final X on a map marking the spot. Moses was told – “Go to Pharoah…” knowing full well Moses was not eloquent and liked to make excuses. We are told – “Go and make disciples of all nations” with or without a fortune and resources.

I am so quick with my excuses – “But all these things would take a small fortune and a lot of planning. It’s impossible. Let me build up my resources first, then..."

Jesus merely says, “Start with what you have – take inventory.”

I have a guitar, a pen, a laptop, some training and experience, some puzzle pieces of spiritual retreat weekends... I am so overwhelmed by the future, I often cannot move in the present.

Today I will choose to bring it to the One who can bless it, break it, multiply it and fully satisfy His heart to see the shepherdless connect with the Shepherd.

What do you have? Start today by placing it in the Shepherd's hands - and watch how he will bless and multiply it as you go...