Five Steps to Seeing Success, as Exemplified by the Miracle of the 5 Loaves and 2 Fish

 

One of the most common miracles we have read, heard, or even preached is Jesus Feeding the 5000. It is also known as the Miracle of the 5 loaves and 2 fish. It was witnessed by all the disciples so much so that all 4 gospels document it in detail. We see it in Matthew 14:13-21, Mark 6:30-44, Luke 9:10-17 and John 6:1-15. It is important to read all 4 references and you will find that each writer documented it from a different perspective and choose what info to add and what to omit.

We often refer to it as feeding the 5000, not realising that there was more than 5000 present. Matthew 14:21 clearly states that those who ate were 5000 men not counting the women and children. It was not only men who followed Jesus everywhere He went. There were people from all age groups. So assuming that a man was married and had an average of 2 children, that would make it 20,000 who were fed on that day. This is why when Jesus told the disciples to give them food to eat, the disciples were shocked. As far as their eye could see, there was a sea of people surrounding them. Despite seeing the countless miracles Jesus had performed every day, they still felt this was something impossible. I believe it must have been Matthew (the tax collector), with the mathematical mind who would have told Jesus that even 6 months’ salary would not be enough to feed everyone!!

 

 

So how much is 6 months’ wages? A person earns about 1 denarii a day and that would make it 180 denarii for 6 months, which is equivalent to about USD470. It was not easy to come by such an amount but Jesus who had compassion on the sick also had compassion on the hungry. He was not about to send anyone home hungry.

We know how the young boy presented Jesus with 5 loaves and 2 fish. John documents this a little differently compared to all the other 3 gospel writers. One extra word is added and if we do not read it carefully, many of us might just miss this. John says in John 6:9 that it was 5 “barley loaves”. It was not just bread or loaves but “barley” loaves. Why this detail? Well, commentaries tell us that barley was the cheapest bread available at that time and only eaten by the poorer people in the community. This clearly shows us that the blessing came from one who had the least to give. He gave it all. We all know how it ends with everyone eating and having 12 baskets remainder after feeding not 5000 but 20,000 people!!

 

 

Another keyword that most people may miss that all 4 gospels mention is seen in Matthew 14:20, Mark 6:42, Luke 9:17, and John 6:11-12. They all say that the people ate until they were “satisfied”. When would you eat until you are satisfied? Well, to me it would be at a buffet. All those “all you can eat” promotions where you could just sit there for hours eating and eating and eating!! You would only leave once you are literally stuffed. The Greek word here is “Echortasthesan” which means to eat until you are extremely full. This was something very rare for those who came from poor backgrounds. Jesus gave them the best and sent them back satisfied and with lots of extra.

The question is, what can we all learn from this miracle. Well, we all know that God can do the impossible. We are called to look at things with eyes of faith and beyond logic. Anything and everything placed in the hands of God will be multiplied. We would like to look at all of this from a different perspective and that is how we can see success in our lives too. What do we need to do to see supernatural multiplication?

     

 

Allow us to outline for you 5 basic principles for success in our lives:

Step 1 – Give in order to get. Like the young boy, it is only when we release what we have and give it to Jesus do we see the multiplication. Eccl. 11:1 reminds us to ship our grains across the sea. Be a blessing to the nations and not just your own nation. Think global and not local. When we release what we have to the ends of the earth. God will increase things in our lives. 

Step 2 – Don’t worry about what you can’t control. There are things within our control and there are things that are not. What is beyond us, surrender it to God. Eccl 11:3 says that we have no control over the rain, the clouds, or a tree.. but we know who does. If you want to see success, do what is within your power and trust God to handle everything else.

Step 3 – Do not delay, do it now. Eccl. 11:4 tells us that we can’t just sit around watching and waiting for things to happen. Procrastination is the thief of time. The more we delay and tell ourselves we will do it tomorrow, nothing will happen. God is waiting to pour success into our lives but He is waiting to see us act. 

Step 4 – Make Jesus your CEO. Psalm 127:1 reminds us that unless the Lord builds the house, we all labour in vain. Let God be God and be in control of all things. We should never think we know better and try to take matters into our own hands.

Finally Step 5 – Be hardworking. Prov. 13:4 clearly reminds us “A sluggard’s appetite is never filled, but the desires of the diligent are fully satisfied.” And here we find ourselves back to that word “satisfied” that the 20,000 people experienced.

 

 

Are you fully satisfied in life? Are you full? Have you given your best to God? Do you want to see success? Which of these 5 steps have you yet to practice fully in your life? If you can make a conscious decision to practice each of them diligently, you will begin to see things change for the better. Corrie Ten Boom, a Christian who helped many Jews escape the Nazis during the holocaust, once said this. And she experienced this in her lifetime. We believe so can you.

 

 

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