Mark 6:35

Mark 6:35 says, And when the day was now far spent, his disciples came unto him, and said, This is a desert place, and now the time is far passed: Late in the day, Jesus was still surrounded by many people in a desert place.  We need that same dedication to hearing the word of God today.  Verse thirty-six adds, Send them away, that they may go into the country round about, and into the villages, and buy themselves bread: for they have nothing to eat. The disciples were concerned about feeding the people, and they told Jesus to send them away so that they could buy bread to eat.  They proposed a solution without first checking with Jesus. We should never be more concerned about what it will cost us to help others, nor even about the seeming impossibility of situation, until we ask God for direction first.  Verse thirty-seven continues, He answered and said unto them, Give ye them to eat. And they say unto him, Shall we go and buy two hundred pennyworth of bread, and give them to eat?  Jesus told them to feed the people, and the disciples asked if they should go and buy a lot of bread for the people.  Our solution to problems today is too often how much is it going to cost us.  Verse thirty-eight states, He saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? go and see. And when they knew, they say, Five, and two fishes. Jesus's question to the disciples was basically what did they have to work with.  Before we decide what we cannot do, we should first bring what we have to God and allow Him to use it as He sees fit.  The disciples said they had five loaves and two fish.  This didn't seem like nearly enough to them, but they were forgetting the power of God to provide.  We as followers of Christ sometimes see how little we have instead of how powerful God is.  Verse thirty-nine adds, And he commanded them to make all sit down by companies upon the green grass.  Verse forty continues, And they sat down in ranks, by hundreds, and by fifties.  Jesus had the disciples sit the people down in orderly groups.  No one group was better than the other, and no one was left out.  God does not work unless He is in control of the situation, and we should work to follow His leadership.  Verse forty-one declares, 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.  Jesus took the five loaves and two fish, looked into heaven, blessed and broke the bread, and did the same with the fish, and had the disciples pass it out.  God provided the increase, and when we rely on Him today, no matter how impossible we may think things look, He will continue to do so.  Verse forty-two adds, And they did all eat, and were filled.  Verse forty-three continues, And they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments, and of the fishes, Verse forty-four concludes, And they that did eat of the loaves were about five thousand men.   After everyone was filled, there were twelve baskets full of fragments and fish left over, even though about five thousand men had been fed and nothing was wasted.  Jesus will always provide for our needs if we put our faith in Him, but we should never waste what He provides for us.