Can the provision of Jesus meet my needs?  This is an important question today as we live in a world of uncertainty.  Many are fearful of the future with a poor economy, lack of jobs, loss of money, and the list could go on.  Do we need to be afraid?  Or can we trust in the provision of Jesus?  We get a helpful glimpse of an answer in Luke 9:10-17.

Jesus is preaching to a crowd of over 5000 in a desolate place.  Evening comes, and the crowds are hungry.  This is a big need.  It would take a lot to feed over 5000 people!  Have you ever had a big need in your life? Maybe you do now.

Jesus tells the disciples to give them something to eat.  They rightly recognize that they can’t – this situation is too big for them.  Ever been there – in a situation too big for you?  Maybe you are now.

The disciples manage to come up with five small loaves and two little fish, but that won’t even feed the disciples, let alone the multitudes.  They consider buying food, but where would they get so much food?  There are no Super Walmarts.  The surrounding towns are smaller than the crowd with Jesus.  Even if they could find the food, how would they pay for it?  Mark 6 gives us the figure of 200 denarii.  Each denarius is a day’s wage.  Estimate $100 a day and you get $20,000.  How many of us have that kind of cash on us?  None of the disciples did.  No place to buy food and no money to do it.  The situation seemed impossible.  Ever been there?  Maybe you are now.

But Jesus thanks God (literally blesses God) for the food, divides it up, and they all eat, are satisfied, and have 12 baskets of leftovers.  There was a great need beyond any of them, and Jesus provided for the need.  How has Jesus provided for your needs in the past.  Times when the need was so great you didn’t see how it could be met, but He did.  I can think of ways God has provided jobs in incredible ways for me.  I asked the congregation Sunday, and we heard a number of wonderful stories of God’s provision.  Don’t you think he can provide for your need today?

Of course Jesus provides in different ways for different people.  He might meet a need miraculously like he did in these verses.  Or he might use others to provide for our need as he did when he sent the disciples out in verses 1-6.  Often he provides a job for us to work that our needs might be met.  He makes our gardens grow that we might have food.  And on and on the list might go.  Sometimes he provides in totally unexpected ways.  We are waiting for provision in one way, and he provides in a completely different way.  We don’t understand why, but how he provides is up to him.

He also provides in various amounts.  He provided more than enough for the crowds in our passage.  In verses 1-6, he presumably provided just enough.  Verse 5 suggests there were times when they didn’t get any food, but God still provided enough to keep them going.  None of them starved.  Which reminds us that we could get by on much less than we think.  Paul tells us that if we have food and clothes, we should be content (I Timothy 6:8).  Most of us have much more than that!

Our greatest need, however, is not even food and clothes.  Our greatest need is God, a relationship with him, a home with him forever.  This too is provided to us by Jesus who died for our sins and rose again to give us a new life with God.  Should he choose to withhold food, clothing, or health, still in him we have our greatest need met.  The Psalmist reminds us of this in Psalm 73:26 – “My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”  One day it will come our time to die.  He will withhold our physical needs.  But he will provide something greater – a home with him.

With all this in mind, how should we face the future?  Do we need to be afraid?  Or is the provision of Jesus enough to meet our needs?  The answer is found in the feeding of the 5000.  The answer is found in our own past experiences.  He is more than able to meet our needs.  So let us:

• Seek.  Seek his provision for our needs.  Let us pray as Jesus taught us to pray – “Give us this day our daily bread.”
• Trust.  Trust the Lord to take care of us.  We need not be afraid.  God will give us what we need.
• Be Content.  God may provide abundantly or just enough.  He might provide for us to come home to him.  Regardless of how he provides, let us be content.
• Give Thanks.  God provides for us in measureless ways.  We always have reason to give thanks to God.