We can all agree; we want God to be in all areas of our lives!
From our marriages and relationships to our businesses and careers, we want GOD IN IT. But how do we know if God is fully involved and engaged in our lives? Have you ever asked yourself specifically about a situation, struggle, or even an ambitious plan, Is God in it?
Here are a few points drawn from the Gospel’s biographical sketches of one of the key moments in Jesus’ life and ministry, the feeding of the 5,000. I believe what we glean can be applied to our lives to help us know with certainty of any area of our lives, it’s got GOD IN IT:
1. Don’t ignore the NEED or the PROBLEM. Every miracle starts with a problem. The first step to getting God involved is taking time to acknowledge and identify the need or problem you are facing. You have not because you ask not. God already knows your need and problem, but He is waiting for you to bring them before Him. Stop complaining about the problem and start giving it to God.
Then Jesus lifted up His eyes and seeing a great multitude coming toward Him, He said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread that these may eat?” But this He said to test him, for He Himself knew what He would do. -John 6:5-6 (NKJV)
2. ACCEPT help. More often than not, God will use other people as a part of any miracle in your life. Resisting help from others can abort your miracle in its infancy. Unfortunately, pride can frequently not only stand in our way of asking for help, but it can also stop us from accepting help when it is offered. Pride can be the sin standing in your way of seeing God move in your life. And, don’t forget, sometimes the help will show up in an unlikely package, like a boy holding a sack lunch. So... Don’t be afraid to ask for help, and always accept what God is making available.
“There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two small fish, but what are they among so many?” -John 6:9 (John 6:9 (NKJV)
3. Be willing to start in LACK. Repeatedly in Scripture, we see that miracles start in lack, not abundance. You may not feel like you can do what God asks you to do, BUT God can work through our lack and make it abundant. Being willing to start in lack is a test of your faith, obedience, and trust in God. When God is in it, little is much.
“There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two small fish, but what are they among so many?” -John 6:9 (John 6:9 (NKJV)
4. Get outside of YOUR CIRCLE. Because we enjoy comfort zones, it is very easy to get stuck in one circle or group. The crowd was broken into seated groups of 100’s and 50’s. No doubt, the rows of people turned into circles. It is likely, each group contained people that were familiar with each other. When the disciples started distributing handfuls of bread and fish, they were battling uncertainty of how the miracle would unfold. In such a situation, it is human nature to gravitate to a group with familiar people. Doing the math, we can calculate that each disciple would have been assigned to serve five to ten groups. But, the only way the miracle kept happening was if they kept moving, pollinating new circles with the miraculous! This example teaches us, don’t get stuck in a circle or comfort zone when you’re experiencing a miracle of ‘not-enough’ turned into ‘more-than-enough.’ Keep moving! God may be calling you outside of your comfort zone, outside of your immediate circle, so that He can use you to serve multiple people in many different circles. Don’t limit your reach. Don’t get stuck in a clique. Get outside of your ‘four and no more’ mentality and let God keep working through you.
Then He commanded them to make them all sit down in groups on the green grass. So they sat down in groups, in hundreds and in fifties. -Mark 6:39-40 (NKJV)
There will be times in your relationship with God that He asks you questions for which He already knows the answers.
Jesus knew what He wanted to do before the disciples even brought Him the five loaves and two fish. He took the bread, blessed it, broke it, and gave it back to the disciples. The bread most likely tasted the same, smelled the same, and even looked the same. But it was the PROCESS of the taking, breaking, blessing, and giving it back that changed everything.
In your relationship with God, you will repeatedly have to submit to the same process.
Taken. Blessed. Broken. Given
Can you think of a time in your life when you have been taken, blessed, or broken? In this season, your life probably looked the same to the outside eye, with the exception that from a spiritual standpoint, you had been through the process: taken, blessed, broken, and given. The five loaves and two fish were not enough UNTIL they had been through the process. But out of this process, miracles happened, and blessings ran over.
Jesus Himself was taken from heaven, blessed with an incredible ministry, and His body broken on the cross. He went through this process so He could be given to us! He wanted to be in every area of your life!
He wanted to be God in it.
There is so much more included in this message when engaged in its entirety, and I hope you will give it a listen. You can view this message here: https://youtu.be/O9hd198smOQ
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