How should you respond when the pressures of LIFE are more than you can handle?
Mark 6.30-44
We have all read of the instance where Jesus is with his disciples beside the sea teaching and he calls them away to get some rest in a solitary place. They get in their boats and cross the lake only to find that the crowds have already arrived and are waiting for them. To make matters worse the people all need something to eat. The disciples want to send them away before it gets too late so that the crowd can go and buy some food. Then Jesus just looks at his disciples and says, "You give them something to eat." The disciples are stunned, it would cost over eight months’ pay, which it appears they did not have. Jesus asks them to see what they can find and they bring him the lunch of a small boy. What follows is known as the feeding of the 5,000. BUT that is not the key we need to see here. We need to look at the disciples and how Jesus guides them. We also will examine the spiritual principle of giving. It may surprise you how it is at work here with the disciples and the 5,000.The poor disciples were a great example of the condition most people find themselves in. They were so busy that their time was not their own. They were neglecting important items, like eating. They needed rest. The rat race of-being a disciple was catching up with them. They may not have had to get up at 5 a.m. to drive on I-5 so at 5 p.m. they could drive home in traffic that allowed them to get home just in time for 5 minutes with the kids before throwing down a quick dinner and opening up their laptops to get ready for the next day, but they were just as busy in their own way. They, like most people, were broke. They may not have had a mortgage that was upside down like 34% of the people in Seattle or 25% of the people in Olympia. They may not have had 7 to 10 credit cards with a combined debt of $14,750 as the average American does. They may not have been paying over $3.00 per gallon for fuel for their vehicles. But they were broke just the same. Finally they were unprepared for what was coming their way. WOW it sounds like they were living in the 21st century instead of the 1st.
How did Jesus respond? He recommended R & R (rest and relaxation). He picked a solitary spot across the lake where they could get away from the pressure. He understood the need of a Sabbath of rest. He knew rest is always part of God's plan. It was the first thing God shared with Adam and Eve, a day of rest. They were tired but rowing across that lake to get some rest must have seemed like a dream come true.
Then as they arrived at the shore they saw it. Not a place of solitude but the crowds had arrived before them. They would step ashore into a throng of human beings waiting for them. The problems they thought they had left behind were waiting on them. Their plans had been wrecked. You know how that goes. You plan and save and just when you have enough the hot water tank blows, the frig goes out, the kids need clothes, someone gets sick and you have additional bills. These are real needs that just rush up and force you to deal with them, much like a crowd rushing up to their boat wanting attention.
The challenges of life may be different between then and now but in many ways they are the same. The disciples decided to take matters into their own hands. They put together a plan to solve the problem they were facing. Then they did the same thing we often do. They told Jesus what he should do. "This is a remote place, and it's already very late. Send the people away so they can go to the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat." That was not a question; it was a statement, directions to be followed. Let me say it again. THEY TOLD JESUS WHAT TO DO. How many times do people do that? They go to Jesus in prayer and tell Him what the answer to the problems is. No listening to Jesus directions just tell him their thoughts. Issue a quick AMEN and then on with their lives.
How did Jesus respond? Did he send the people away? Did he do what the disciples had told him to? He just looks at them and says, "You give them something to eat." I can see the shock on their faces. One of them stammers it would take eight months wages. Do you really think we can afford to spend that much to feed this crowd one meal? Jesus has told them that they may be under pressure but they are not calling the shots. They are not to tell him what to do. He will guide and direct their lives, not the other way around.
Now we need to look at the spiritual Principle of Giving if we are going to understand this and apply it to our lives completely. "Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” Luke 6.38 You may think you understand this but I want to challenge how it should be applied. There is the school of thought that this means you give and you get tons in return. You will never need anything again. Yet when you look at the whole giving principle it does not say that. In fact it says just the opposite. It has two key parts. First you are to GIVE. This applies to what you have. If you are a widow on a fixed income you cannot give as much as a millionaire but it applies to them equally. Give and it will be given back to you. This is different from the principle of wealth the world usually goes by. Take and you will have more than the guy you took from. Take enough and you will be rich. So the first half of the spiritual giving principle says Give and it will be given back to you. The second half is the part most people know nothing about. The measure you use it will be measured to you. Here are the disciples by the lake. All those people come by one by one and the disciples measure out to each one how much? They give each one a meal. ONE MEAL EACH! When it is all over and they pick up the extra in the take home boxes they end up with twelve (12) baskets (a basket here is one meal). So twelve disciples who have MEASURED out one meal to everyone in the crowd now find that they each get one meal MEASURED to them. Jesus did not have a month's supply left over so they could set back and relax. Remember the manna in the Old Testament. They got one day's worth each day. If they tried to get more it would spoil. God measures your daily life. When you give you receive. God makes sure you receive the same measure back. The disciples should not have expected more, and neither should we.
This principle of giving applies to all areas of our life. You give forgiveness. Forgive and you will be forgiven. Don't forgive and you will not be forgiven. We are supposed to be a giving people. That is why Jesus said, "You give them something to eat." We give a little, it could be even two fish and five loaves that make up a small lunch, and he multiplies it over and over. We forgive and he forgives us over and over. In fact many more times than we have ever done. Give and it will be given. Measure and it will be measured back. Forgive and you will be forgiven.
This world may not be all that different from the world of the disciples. We may not be much different from them either. We need to listen to Jesus even when the pressure is on and we are in need of rest and relaxation. When the world has pushed us to the limits and there seems to be no answers we will always have Jesus. They put two fish and five loaves into his hands and look how it turned out. What do you need to put into his hands? What is he telling you to do with your life today? Are you listening to Jesus or are you still trying to tell him what to do? With that I need to stop and spend some time listening and getting directions for my life, and I recommend that you do the same.
