SCRIPTURE: Matthew 14:17 (TM) – larger reading Matthew 14:13-21
"All we have
are five loaves of bread and two fish," they said.
STORY:
T.E. Lawrence once said, "All men dream but not
equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds awake to
the day to find it was all vanity. But the dreamers of the day are dangerous
men, for the many act out their dreams with open eyes, to make it
possible..."
OBSERVATION:
We are all are taken
by our dreams. In the smallest recesses of our spirit lingers the dream’s of
the heart. When those dreams are fulfilled we are frightened by their
magnitude. When the lay ruined on the shore of what have been we are
devastated.
It is a crushing weight
of shattered dreams. One wonders if they really could have been that mistaken
in understanding the directive of the Spirit of God for one’s life. Therein
lies the lesson… not in the fulfillment of the dreams, but working through bits
and pieces of what once was or might have been.
Was hope held on to
or were we easily sidetracked by sad circumstances that brought us to the
miserable state of our present condition? Holding on is hard when at every turn
the answer seems to a sounding no.
A young University
of Florida ministerial student comes to mind. His answer from our conference
was a no. An opportunity rose in another conference and after several attempts
in pastoring a church their answer was finally a no as well. Alas, he returned
to his mother’s home and attempted to put his life back in order. Could he have
missed God’s message? Was the weight of rejection to heavy to bear? Slowly,
ever so slowly God began to reveal the valuable lesson that he needed to hear.
Too often we miss
the lesson of rejection because of hurt feelings or the sheer weight of the rejection.
Some even turn away from those who can assist them the most. One of the real
blessings with rejection is the discovery of God’s grace at the end of the
painful journey.
On another front: I
will testify to the reality that when a life long dream begins to take shape
and begins to become a reality it is a scary thing. Questions begin to fly.
Doubts emerge. Can we do this invades the spirit. All we have is two fist and
five loaves… the rocks along the shore of shattered dreams, but place that
meager offering into the hands of the Master and a miracle will take place… a
miracle beyond our wildest imagination and far great than anything that we
could have ever dreamed up.
PRAYER:
It isn’t much Lord,
but it is all I have. Can you do anything with the “two fish and five loaves”?
I trust that you can.
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