Devotional Reading: Luke 9: 1-17

Text: But He said to them, “You give them something to eat.” The apostles said to Him, “We have no more than five loaves and two fish–unless we are to go and buy food for all these people.” (v. 13)

“How am I ever gonna do this?” is a question that we all ask at one time or another whenever we face what appears to be an insurmountable challenge.  “Where do I begin?”

The feeding of the 5000 is the one parable that appears in all four of the gospels. And while each gospel has a slightly different slant, they all have one thing in common. The first step to facing any challenge is to simply begin. We begin by bringing the challenge to Jesus and asking Him what we should do, how we should begin. And He will as us assessed the resources that we already have. So step two, inventory your assets. Step three, dedicate them to be used by the Risen Lord. Step four, ACT.

Someone once said that no one has all of the spiritual gifts but everyone has the spiritual gifts necessary to be faithful to Christ’s call.  I truly believe in what I call “The Mustard Seed Principle”. The Kingdom of God begins small and grows in God’s own time. So don’t thing that you can’t do anything. You can. Take the first step today.

Lord, do not let me be intimidated by the immensity of the problems in this world, in my community, my church or even my life. Remind me that You are there with me. Guide my steps and give me the courage to take the first step. Amen.