Matthew 15:33
“And his disciples say unto him, Whence should we have so much bread in the wilderness, as to fill so great a multitude?”

One day, when Jesus sits near the Sea of Galilee, multitudes of people come to him to have their friends and relatives healed. They glorify God as he heals the lame and blind. At one point, Jesus decides the people need something to eat and he tells the disciples of the need. The disciples look out across the vast number of people, the men alone accounting for over four thousand. Who can blame the disciples when they ask, “Whence should we have so much bread in the wilderness, as to fill so great a multitude?”

It is easy to become overwhelmed by the problems surrounding us. Multitudes of people are hungry, hurting and hopeless. They starve for compassion. We want to help them, but, like the disciples, we think, “We are so few. How can we help so many?” The task seems nearly impossible.

And it would be nearly impossible except for one unmentioned element . . . Jesus. When the disciples thought they had so little, Jesus took what they had and fed thousands. Jesus was the one who fed the multitudes. The disciples just passed out what he gave them.

When we try to help people in our own effort, we come up short. They are hurting with a hunger deep within their souls and our weak attempts to feed them amount to little more than seven loaves of bread and a few small fish. We try to feed them, but their hunger remains.

If we would only realize that Jesus alone can meet their needs. He can feed the hungry. He can comfort the hurting. He can be the hope for the hopeless. Our job is to pass out what he gives us. We need to take the love he gives us and pass it on to the lonely. We need to take the mercy he gives us and show it to the hurting. We need to take the truth he gives us and proclaim it to the world.