Trials And Tribulations: This Is A Test “When He has tried me, I shall come forth as gold.” Job 23:10 Matthew 14:15-16; John 6:5-7 It’s interesting to read about this miracle in the various Gospels because you pick up important little details. Mark 6:31 says Jesus and the disciples were tired when this happened. They wanted Him to dismiss the crowd, to give the benediction so they could go home. But Jesus told them to take care of the crowds hunger. He asked Phillip, whom we met a few weeks ago, how he was going to feed so many people. Now we know from John 6:6 that Jesus was testing Phillip. He knew what He was planning to do. When Jesus asks a question, it’s not to learn new information. When Jesus inquires of you, it is to test you. Phillip had been with Jesus for about two years. He had seen Him change water into wine. He had seen Him heal people. Jesus was now ready to put Phillip to the test. But Phillip thought Jesus should have been answering the question, not asking it. You may be facing an insurmountable situation right now, and rather than Jesus answering you, it seems that He’s asking you, “What are you going to do?” In other words, “You mean you haven’t come up with anything yet?” You say, “But, Jesus, I’m coming to You for answers.” Jesus responds, “This is a test. Were you in church last Sunday? Were you listening? This is a test.” Phillip pulled out his calculator and figured out that they were way short. So he enlightened Jesus. “Now, Jesus, pay attention. Come back to the real world. Two hundred denarii won’t even begin to dent this deal.” Are there any Phillips in the house? We’ve all been there. We look at an insurmountable circumstance and see only that it can’t be done. So we come to Jesus and say, “Lord, this is all I’ve got. It’s not near enough, so I guess we’ll have to forget it.” The problem with that is that the issue is not what you have. The issue is what Jesus has, what He can do. And He already knows what He wants to do in your circumstance. He’s just waiting for you to figure out what He already knows….that you can’t do it by yourself! When you’re talking to Jesus, put away your calculator. Don’t try to limit what He can do for you. Posted by David Coleman of The DC Ministry “Sharing The Gospel.”
Posted on: Sun, 03 Nov 2013 11:57:43 +0000
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