As many of you know, last year my husband, Jacob was diagnosed with a stomach condition called Gastroparesis. This condition was a side effect from gallbladder surgery and means that the stomach has trouble processing certain foods. So any food at any time could make hime sick for days. He was unable to work for the entire last year, and I found myself juggling children, chores, doctor visits, and four work-from-home jobs. The amazing thing was this; God provided for everything! We never went hungry, all medical bills were covered, and every bill was paid. It was a stressful time, but God kept us. And I stressed through the whole thing. "Would he ever go back to work?" "What should I be doing?" "Am I doing enough?" "Are we making good choices?" In the end, I scrambled for no reason; God provided all our needs. Jacob learned how to cope with a new diet and we moved on.
After two months of work without missing a day, Jacob suffured another attack earlier this week. I went into full-blown panic mode. What will we do? What if he doesn't go back to work? What if he gets fired?
He has missed three days of work, and these are all possibilities. I picked up my Bible this afternoon, and it opened to John 6 where Jesus feeds the 5000.
"When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” 6 He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do." John 6:5
Jesus already knew what he was going to do, he just wanted to see if Philip trusted him. We all know the end, he found five loaves and two fishes and there was enough for the crowd.
Right after this, the dsciples go out to sea and there is a storm. They are afraid. Jesus walks out on the water and they call out to him. He calms the storm.
What gets me here is these discples just saw an amazing miracle. Jesus fed the 5000 with a tiny amount of food! They know he's amazing! And yet they forget what just happened and get afraid when a storm blows in!
It is so easy to forget what Jesus has done for us when a new stress arises. May God remind us of His provision and miracles He has done in our lives, over and over again.
After two months of work without missing a day, Jacob suffured another attack earlier this week. I went into full-blown panic mode. What will we do? What if he doesn't go back to work? What if he gets fired?
He has missed three days of work, and these are all possibilities. I picked up my Bible this afternoon, and it opened to John 6 where Jesus feeds the 5000.
"When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” 6 He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do." John 6:5
Jesus already knew what he was going to do, he just wanted to see if Philip trusted him. We all know the end, he found five loaves and two fishes and there was enough for the crowd.
Right after this, the dsciples go out to sea and there is a storm. They are afraid. Jesus walks out on the water and they call out to him. He calms the storm.
What gets me here is these discples just saw an amazing miracle. Jesus fed the 5000 with a tiny amount of food! They know he's amazing! And yet they forget what just happened and get afraid when a storm blows in!
It is so easy to forget what Jesus has done for us when a new stress arises. May God remind us of His provision and miracles He has done in our lives, over and over again.
