Daily Devotional for Tuesday, February 3

Jesus, the Supplier of Food

“And they did eat, and were all filled: and there was taken up of fragments that remained to them twelve baskets,” Luke 9:17.

When you consider the law of sowing and reaping, there are three basic typical considerations. First, whatever you sow, you are going to reap. If you plant an apple seed, you can expect an apple tree. My dad always grew a big garden when we were kids. Without fail, the produce always matched the picture on the packet. Whatever he planted, we eventually picked.

Also, the harvest is usually not immediate. My dad’s garden would have been on the news if we planted the seeds one day and it was fully grown the next day. I do not care how much fertilizer you use; it takes time for things to grow.

And, of course, you usually reap more than you sow. If you plant an apple seed, you usually get a tree full of apples. We recently had a single tomato plant that yielded numerous tomatoes for several months. I am amazed by how God blesses us with provision. When I read the stories of the feedings of the five thousand and four thousand, I am awestruck by how generous our God is to us, and how He rewards faithfulness. Jesus was always faithful to the will of the Father.

In the account of the feeding of the five thousand, the Bible tells us that they collected twelve baskets of leftovers. Remember, Jesus only started with five loaves of bread and two fish (verse 16). In the story of the feeding of four thousand, there remained seven baskets of leftovers (Mark 8:8). In this miracle, Jesus started with seven loaves and a few small fish (verses 5, 7). Whether God provides fish, bread, oil and meal (1 Kings 17:16) or something else, remember that He will always bless your faithfulness.

REFLECTION

“Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, Unto him be glory” (Ephesians 3:20, 21).

Chris Floyd