How Many Loaves Do You Have?

“How many loaves do you have?" Mark 8:5

In the 6th chapter of Mark, Jesus was followed by 5,000 people and He tells His disciples to feed them, “Give them something to eat yourselves.” Of course they were flabbergasted and said, "With what? It would take a small fortune to buy food for this huge a crowd!!!" We would say the same, don't you think? Here in chapter 8 of Mark, there are less people, 4000. The disciples ask the same thing, but with less incredulity. "How are we supposed to find enough food for them here in the wilderness?"

"How many loaves of bread do YOU have?" Jesus asked.

I like these passages about the multiplication of the loaves and fishes, because it shows that miracles start with what we have in our hand. What we give to God. A few days ago, several earthquakes and aftershocks devastated Syria and Turkey. Now we have learned that more than 23,000 have been confirmed dead, and with thousands of buildings fallen into rubble, many more may not be found for a long time. It is devastating and horrendous. When I saw the pictures and the videos, my first thought was how hopeless it all was. Any help we could send would just disappear like a drop of water into a vast ocean of need. But just as God multiplied whatever was given to Him before, He will do the same today. He is after all, the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. 

We need never lose hope. “The first 72 hours are considered to be critical,” said Steven Gody, a natural hazards expert at a University in England. At past 99 hours, children including two little sisters were found alive. Can you imagine the jubilation of those who were digging with their hands through the fallen stones and steel? 

How many loaves do WE have in our hands? Let us put it in God's hand and see miracles!