The Feeding of Four Thousands

I was reading through Matthew 15 when a passage startled me with amazement. It was the story about the feeding of four thousand (Mat 15:29-39). If you haven't know, the book of Mark and Matthew recorded two occassions where Jesus fed the multitude. The first occasion is found in the previous chapter of Matthew and is known as the "Feeding of the Five Thousands". The second occasion, not so popular as the first one, is what I read in Matthew 15. I can't help but to be amazed on the story.

The story opens with a scene similar to Matthew 14. Verse 30 - 31 says:

"And great multitudes came unto him, having with them those that were lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and many others, and cast them down at Jesus' feet; and he healed them: Insomuch that the multitude wondered, when they saw the dumb to speak, the maimed to be whole, the lame to walk, and the blind to see: and they glorified the God of Israel."

Both occasions were preceded by other miracles. Jesus was healing the sick (14:14) so much so that everybody (including the twelve disciples) were amazed of what they saw. After the miracles, Jesus didn't send the multitudes away nor did He left them. Instead, Jesus wanted to fed them (14:16, 15:32).

Now this what got me the most. Verse 33 says:

"And his disciples say unto him, Whence would we have so much bread in the wilderness, as to fill so great a multitude? And Jesus saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? And they said, Seven, and a few little fishes."

Notice their unbelief! Now here are the disciples asking Jesus how in the world would He feed 4000+ people with 7 loaves of bread and a few 'lil biddy fishes while not too long ago, Jesus fed 5000+ people with only 5 loaves and a couple 'lil biddy fishes. Didn't they remember the twelve baskets full of leftovers from last night's dinner?

Jesus then went on and did the exact same things He did before. He took whatever they had, gave thanks, and broke the bread, and miraculously fed the multitude. The leftover were, again, so much that it filled up 7 baskets. If you do the math, you might wonder how come there were less leftovers with more food and fewer people? I would not speculate more than that it had something to do with their unbelief.

The application of this story goes like this. God did a miracle in my life not too long ago. But a few months later, there I was, doubting and worrying of the very same thing which God brought me through. If I compare the two situations, the current one seems a little bit less worrying than the previous one. But that didn't help me to realize that the God who did a miracle in the past is still the same God that will do a miracle today.

Oh, Lord, forgive me for doubting You. I want to cast down all my worries at Your feet, so God, please help my unbelief.

In His love,
VL