A Frozen Fish Patty on a Bun

Posted on March 23, 2017 by Graeme Wilson in Freedom Fighters

Tags: #americaskeswick #freedomfighters #christiandevotional

“‘There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two small fish, but what are they among so many?’ Then Jesus said, “‘Make the people sit down.'” – John 6:9-10a (NKJV)
There’s a popular fast-food chain that puts a commercial that cracks me up. It advertises that it’s seafood lunch box is absolutely LOADED with shrimp/ fries/ biscuit/ dessert/ antacid/ napkin/ bubbly drink/ straw/ hot sauce packet with a juicy jalapeño on the side. It makes the competitor’s one, which is just a frozen fish patty on a bun (oh darn!), look very unfulfilling. But that’s what things have become now, ya can’t just have a fish sandwich and be content. Oh no, on the contrary, you must have all this other stuff to go with it or else you’ll just simply starve to death! Oh, woe is you!!
Did ya ever think you didn’t have enough to offer up to God? Like you’re really not all that gifted to handle Kingdom things and you seem to always find yourself sitting on the sideline with a frozen fish patty on a bun? If we go into the Old Testament, we see two dudes that always seemed to be in the middle of those with very little. Elijah and Elisha always seemed to find those people who are asked to give what they got and those people are going, “Whaddaya nuts? There ain’t enough here to make a dusting let alone a meal.” But somehow these two men of YHVH showed these people that YHVH could use what little they had to do bigger things.
1 Kings 17 gives an account about Elijah the Tishbite. He’ll be the guy that tells a wicked king, “As the LORD, the God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, surely there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word.” Then he’ll be directed to brook and be fed by ravens, and then he’ll be directed to a widow who will find out that her flour and oil won’t run out, but it won’t be until her son dies that she’ll “know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the LORD in your mouth is true.” We never get their names, and they only had a little to offer, but then YHVH used it to prepare Elijah for that wicked king and his Jezebel.
2 Kings 4 gives an account about Elisha of Gilgal. This starts with a widow with very little oil and on the brink of losing her children to slavery. This account ends with every possible container in the village being filled with oil and two kids getting to stay with their mother. However, as we move towards the end of this chapter we see an account about 20 loaves of bread being brought to Elisha who commands that they be given to the people that they may eat. Which leads to the guy who has brought this gift saying, “What? Feed a hundred people with only this?” But the deed is done and there is leftover. This brings me to the feeding of the 5,000. Other than the Resurrection, this is the only miracle that all four Gospels give an account of.
The Apostle Andrew finds a young lad with what could be his lunch or his whole day’s ration and it seems that the young man has offered it up as something to feed everyone, but we get that same ole’ O.T.  response that it just ain’t enough. So, what’s THE Son of God supposed to do? Well, we know what He does and we forget, at times, that this miracle still does what it did and that is to do bigger things than we think it can do. When we’re thankful for what little we already have, and have the heart to be able to offer it (not when God wants or needs it, ‘cos He really never needs or wants,) but when we see the need in others, our God will do exceedingly, abundantly above what we see as impossible to do on our own.
Now as for the loaded seafood lunch box versus the frozen fish patty on bun is concerned, please keep in mind that Elijah the Tishbite would have made either one last a really long time (see 1Kings 17:8-16). Elisha from Gilgal would have had some leftovers from them (see 2Kings 4:42-44), and why is that? Well, with God nothing is impossible. By the way, Jesus would still be waiting for you to gather the 12 baskets from what He was able to do with it. Never think it ain’t enough to offer up, because when its offered up to THE Creator of the universe, it’s just the right amount. Amen?
Written by Chris Hughes: Chris, a graduate of The Colony of Mercy (11-2003) is married (Kathy) with two adult children (Kevin and Karen) and has been a Freedom Fighter contributor since 2008.
The Daily Bible Reading: Job 21-22 | You can download our 2017 Daily Bible Reading Plan by clicking here

Daily Quote: “Jesus didn’t need that boy. Jesus didn’t need his lunch. He could have fed everyone without even missing a beat in His teaching. Jesus could have turned rocks into bread if He wanted to-but instead, He chose to use that boy. The Bible doesn’t give us many details about this kid or why Jesus chose to use him, but I can’t help but wonder if He did it to show us what happens when we offer our gifts to Him” —Austin Gutwein

This Week’s Verse to Memorize:
The light of the eyes rejoices the heart, And a good report makes the bones healthy. Proverbs 15:30