This past week, I was reading in the Gospel of Mark and pondering the feeding of the 5,000 in Mark 6:30-44. It is such a great story of a miraculous event, but what I love is that it is a testimony of how God feeds an ordinary need in an extraordinary way. As I considered this thought, God gave me a couple of modern day stories where I got to see Him do a similar thing up close and personal!
On Saturday, our team was down in South Dallas serving inner city kids at our weekly Bible club, C-Kids. We were blessed to have two new friends from Stonebriar come down to serve with us. At the end of the day, one of the ladies mentioned to me that she had a microwave she would like to donate. I told her I would pass it on to Pastor Chris and see if he knew someone needing a microwave. Well, two days later, I got a message from Pastor Chris praising God for His perfect timing. He had just received a text from a church member asking for a microwave for Viola’s House (a new housing ministry for young pregnant girls and teen moms). They did not have one previously and had been going next door to heat up their food.
On Tuesday, I received a message from our Missional Living Coordinator, Jean, that she just received a call from a church member who had 20 to 30 THOUSAND hamburger buns they wanted to donate preferably by the next day. I do love my job—never a boring moment! So we began putting out calls to some of our community ministry partners, and Samaritan Inn was able to take 1,000, which only left us about 29,000 to go. So I sent a message to Pastor Chris from Cornerstone to see if they could use some buns. His immediate response was “Sure, we’ll take them!” “All of them, Pastor Chris?” I clarified. “You did understand I said 30 thousand buns?” He said, “Yes, I can share with the homeless ministry, families in the neighborhood, and other smaller churches and ministries in the area. After we get word out, they will go fast.” So on Thursday, we sent the thousands of buns on their way to South Dallas. When I checked on them Friday to make sure they were delivered and to check on distribution, Pastor Chris shared, “Yes, they were delivered, but it was actually 50 thousand buns. We are down to our last 8,000!” That’s right…they had passed out 42,000 buns in under 24 hours! (I can’t make this stuff up!)
As I reflected on God’s goodness and surprises of the week, I was overcome with praise and gratitude for our awesome Provider and the lessons He had taught me. Sometimes, we are sitting on God’s provision and need to offer it up so we can watch Him work, like the gal with the microwave that had been sitting in her garage for two years. She saw needs everywhere in South Dallas and so asks, do you have any need of a microwave? Isn’t that just like God to have that microwave pop into her mind at the very same time some young moms needed one?
Sometimes, you become aware of a provision like thousands of buns at a business next to your place of employment. You do not know what to do, but you offer it up and watch God work (so aBUNdantly). You see it become 50,000 pieces of bread providing for a community in a variety of ways.
If items or observations are left to ourselves, needs are not met. But when we open our eyes, step out of our comfort zone, pay attention to the needs God is showing us, and are willing to offer up what little bit we have, we get to watch Him work and move in amazing ways!
Now it might not be a microwave or 50,000 buns that you have, but maybe it’s a smile or a kind word or a couple hours on a Saturday. God takes the ordinary and makes it extraordinary. God is at work and we get to be a part of it! How good is that?
