Look at God

But they said to him, “Five loaves and two fish are all we have here.” Then he said, “Bring them here to me, ” and he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he said the blessing, broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, who in turn gave them to the crowds. They all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up the fragments left over. (Matthew 14:17-20)

We need miracles today. Many are hungry. Many are desperate. Businesses are closing. So many have lost jobs. The economy is barely surviving. Another battle is raging fast and furious on the health front. Doctors and nurses are overwhelmed with the need and desperation around them. One doctor said that 70% of our health care workers show signs of depression. 

A doctor posted, “Just came home from my 4 hour shift at the PGH command center. I am no stranger to 24-36 hour shifts, but this time.. I felt particularly drained. 

“I had to tell a grandson worried about his 90year old COVID positive grandma who's having trouble breathing at home that they will have to seek help at another institution because we are out of beds with oxygen.. 

“I had to ask a family to wait two more days before their father who needs dialysis can follow up again because our dialysis unit is backed up and can't admit any more new cases.. 

“I had to apologize to a daughter who tearfully asked if there was any more room for her mother who was intubated in a private hospital they could not afford anymore to try calling in the morning to see if any ICU beds have been freed up..

“I had to listen to a colleague gasping for breath as she makes her way to the ER alone to be admitted because her symptoms have gotten worse and it wasn't safe for her to quarantine at home anymore....”

We need a miracle worker who can make food for thousands from an offering of five loaves and two fish. What is God’s answer to a doctor who wants to give up, who is depressed, scared, drained because there is no end in sight and no help in the horizon? What is a businessman to do when he has loans to pay and no money coming in?

Where else do we look for comfort but in the words of the Bible? “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." (Matthew 6:34) We need to take one day at a time. If we worry about the what if’s of the future, there will be no end to our worries and anxieties. “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?" (Matthew 6:25) If we stand on God’s promises, He will be faithful to take care of us. 

"Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him." (James 1:12) “I have said these things to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33) “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair." (Corinthians 4:8) 

Only in God can we find answers. If we try to find it within ourselves, or in our government, we will come up empty. Corrie Ten Boom, who went through so much suffering during the Holocaust and survived victoriously, proclaimed, “If you look at the world, you'll be distressed. If you look within, you'll be depressed. If you look at God you'll be at rest.”