Eyes up!

I was reading a very familiar account from the bible today, the story of the feeding of the 5000.   If you don't know it... a crowd of people (5000 men plus women and children) followed Jesus to listen to him preach.  After a while Jesus says to his disciples that the people need to eat because otherwise they will faint on the way home.  The disciples say they don't have anything, but a little kid offers his lunch- five loaves and 2 fishes, but what's that among so many people?

However, Jesus doesn't scoff at the offering.  Instead he takes it in hand and (this is the bit that spoke to me) and let's read what he does...

Mark 6:41 (KJV)
And when he had taken the five loaves and the two fishes, he looked up to heaven, and blessed, and brake the loaves, and gave them to his disciples to set before them; and the two fishes divided he among them all.

He looked up!  He took his eyes off of the stuff and looked up to heaven.  That phrase 'to look up' is from the Greek 'anablepō' and it means to recover sight: — look (up), see, receive sight!  He didn't look at what was in his hands, but recovered his sight from what he saw in Heaven.  El Shaddai - one of the names God has revealed to us means the All-Sufficient One...  the More-Than-Enough kind of God.   More than 5 loaves and 2 fishes kind of God - the Feed Them All and Have Leftovers kind of God

The conclusions of the account is that they feed everyone until they've had enough and collect 12 baskets of leftovers!

Sometimes we can look at everything we have - time, energy, resources and we just think it's not enough because we are looking at the 'stuff'.  Instead we need to look up to heaven and recover our spiritual sight, based on the Mighty God we serve, his awesome miracle working power and amazing love!  

When we look away from the things as the seem in the natural, God can show us opportunities, blessings, miracles, and so much more.  

Today, take your eyes of your own sufficiency - even on your best day, you are nothing, you can do nothing and you know nothing WITHOUT Jesus, but in him, well, all things are possible if you can just believe and we can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens us (Phil 4:13). That word 'strengthen' is 'endynamoō';  to empower: — enable, (increase in) strength(-en), be (make) strong.

When we look away from the natural and onto Jesus, he will empower us and enable us with all that need not just to 'get by', but to thrive and flourish, even in difficult times.

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