He’s Maximizing My Life

Then He commanded the multitudes to sit down on the grass. And He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke and gave the loaves to the disciples; and the disciples gave to the multitude.

Matthew 14:19 NKJV

One verse has the power to break heaven wide open for you. One verse can let you know that God sees you, hears you and is concerned about you. One verse can give you the push to go into your next phase. Well, let me be clear. One verse did it for ME on Sunday. I pray it does the same for you. Let’s dive into the sermon recap.

In Matthew 14, we find the story of the two fish and five loaves of bread. Actually, this story can be found in Mark, Luke, and John as well. People who have never set foot inside of a Sunday School class likely know this story. Jesus is ministering to a multitude…thousands of people. As the day moves into the evening, the disciples suggest that Jesus send the multitude away. He is ministering in a deserted place and people need to eat. There is no drive-thru or corner store in sight. The disciples think it’s reasonable to end the service and send the people to nearby villages so that they can buy some food. Jesus tells the disciples to feed the people. They respond and let Jesus know that all they have are five loaves of bread and two fish for thousands of people to share. Jesus asks the disciples to bring the five loaves of barley bread and two fish to Him. And then we get to the one verse that is the center of the sermon. The one verse that challenged my perspective.

Jesus takes the bread, blesses the bread, and breaks the bread. He gives the bread to the disciples. The disciples give the bread to the multitude. They never run out. The multitude eats until they are full. The disciples take up twelve baskets of fragments after everyone has eaten.  A miracle. A real deal miracle. Jesus takes, blesses, and breaks and everyone gets full. But does anyone know what happened immediately before this miracle?

Let me save you from having to scroll through the Bible app. Right before the gathering of the multitude, Jesus gets some sad news. His cousin, John the Baptist, has been beheaded (another story for another day, but whew child!). After hearing the news, Jesus goes to a deserted place by himself. Now my cousin was not beheaded (Thank you Lord!), but I know what it is like to receive news that shakes you up. I know what it is like to go to a deserted place by yourself to recuperate. However, unlike me, Jesus does not stay in His deserted place. He sees the multitude and gets back to ministry. He does not send the people away to eat. He takes the bread, blesses the bread, and breaks the bread. And everyone gets full.

By now you may have realized that the bread is not just bread. The bread is a symbol of me….and you. Life has a way of breaking us. And we should not be surprised. If you believe in Christ, breaking comes with the territory. But you know what else comes with the territory? A blessing. Before Jesus broke the bread, He blessed it. He blessed it for His service. And only then did He break it. Not to be spiteful. But for His service. See….the broken pieces went out to the multitude. To feed them. To make them full.

Child, I have been broken before the Lord for a long time now. And instead of sharing with the multitude, I kept the fragments in my house. My brokenness was not serving its purpose. God blessed me for His service and wants to use all the broken pieces to minister to others. To let them know they are not alone. To help fill them with hope and His love.

Maybe you have been having a hard time. You may be wrestling with grief, like me, or being broken in many other ways. This is your reminder that you were blessed before you were ever broken. God is not evil. He took you in His hands, and He blessed you. My prayer for you is that you don’t give up after the breaking. Use your broken pieces to minister to others. Maximize your life so that everyone can be full. #wepreach