Christian Living

---

As I get older, I’m finding myself misplacing things. I run frantically around the house looking for my car keys or sunglasses and work myself up into a lather trying to find them. After about 15 minutes of panicked desperation, I will sit down. I’ll look at the coffee table, in front of me, and there sit the missing keys or glasses. They were always right in front of me but I missed them. It’s an unsettling feeling and I wish for younger days when my mind was a little sharper and more focused.

As Christians we often miss God’s greatest blessings because our focus is elsewhere. We pray desperately for an answer to a problem but we overlook God’s response because we have preconceived notions of what the solution should look like. We frantically run around trying to find our own resolution when God’s answer and provision is right in front of our eyes. We don’t take time to recognize or acknowledge it. The story in John 6, of the feeding of the 5,000, is a great example of people missing God’s miracles right before their eyes.

I’m sure you know the basic story. Jesus was at the Sea of Galilee and a large crowd had followed him motivated by their desire for healing. They had heard stories of miraculous cures and wanted to see Jesus for themselves. It began to get late in the afternoon and Jesus, feeling compassion on the crowd, asks Phillip how to feed the thousands. Phillip answers from a human perspective. “It would take a half year’s wages for each person to have just one bite of food,” he replies (John 6:5). Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, chimes in, “We have 5 loaves and 2 fish. How far can it go?” Andrew gets his answer when Jesus takes the food, blesses it, and miraculously feeds the crowd until their stomachs are full. There are 12 baskets of bread left over.

The story does not end here. Later in the evening, as it is dark, the disciples get into a boat and set off for Capernaum on the far shore of the Sea of Galilee. The crowd, which had been fed the day before, wakes up early the next morning. They knew one boat had been on the shore the night before. They knew the disciples got in the boat and left but Jesus was not with them. Jesus was not on their side of the lake that morning so they decided to go look for him. Some boats from Tiberius landed on the shore and the immense crowd of people load onto the boats and set sail for Capernaum to find Jesus. When they land in Capernaum they see Jesus and the first question they ask is, “How did you get here?”

The Sea of Galilee is 33 miles around. Assuming a person had to walk half way around the lake, about 16 miles, to get to Capernaum it would have taken about 5 or 6 hours to walk in daylight. If Jesus had left at night the journey would have taken much longer with no light. The crowd was baffled. They knew he wasn’t in the boat with the disciples, when they left the night before, so logically he would have had to walk. Getting to Capernaum on foot was almost impossible in their time frame so how did he happen to be there? Jesus didn’t answer their question. He knew their motivation in looking for him was purely selfish because he had satisfied their physical desires. They were missing the miracle, right before their eyes, because their human needs were blinding them to the truth.

The crowd then had the audacity, in John 6:30, to ask Jesus, “What sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do? Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” (NIV) Can you understand the unbelievable irony in that question? Jesus had already provided them “bread from heaven” when he fed them with only 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish! They had been so preoccupied with their own hunger they failed to recognize and acknowledge God’s miracle in providing them food. Just like their ancestors, who wandered in the desert with Moses, they did not appreciate the amazing provision of God.

Two miracles, in the span of one day, occurred right before the people’s eyes and yet they missed them because they weren’t paying attention to what God was revealing to them. How often in our lives have miracles taken place and we overlook them because we aren’t focused on God? We are overwhelmed with our personal circumstances and our eyes are blinded to God’s amazing answers. How can we refocus and recognize the miracles, happening right in front of us, in our own lives?

First, when you pray for God’s provision or solution to a situation pray with an expectant heart. Many times we throw a prayer out there but we don’t really believe it will be answered. Hebrews 11:6 tells us without faith it is impossible to please God. We are to come to him, in faith, and believe he rewards those who truly seek him. 1 John 5:14-15 also reminds us if we ask anything, in his will, he hears us and we can have confidence we will receive an answer. I’ve prayed for circumstances and situations, asking for God’s will, but in my heart I didn’t believe he would hear me or care about the problem. I’ve learned I need to pray in faith and trust God to answer my prayer.

Secondly, when you’ve prayed and are waiting for God’s answer think outside the box. Many times God answers prayer in ways we would never expect or look for. At one point in my life I was out of work and needed a certain amount of income to take care of my bills. I had applied for many different jobs but had not received anything. I remember praying, “God, you promised to provide my needs, not my wants, and I’m trusting you.” I received a job offer for part-time housecleaning work and then different office related jobs I could do at home. My finances were taken care of but not in the way I expected. If I had remained focused on how I expected my prayer to be answered I would have missed the blessing of God’s miraculous provision.

I love the words to the old hymn, “Turn Your Eyes upon Jesus” written by Helen Lemmel in 1922. The words of the refrain speak so plainly to looking for miracles in our lives even today. “Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in his wonderful face and the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of his glory and grace.” The worries and concerns of earth fade away and we are able to see the wonderful blessings Jesus has for us when we focus on his glory and grace instead of our own individual needs. Our answers come from outside the limited realm we live in often in astounding ways. We won’t overlook God’s wonderful gifts and amazing provisions because we will recognize them.

The Jews missed out on the ultimate blessing by overlooking the obvious miracles Jesus performed. They didn’t recognize him as the Messiah they were waiting for so desperately. His presence and power should have been apparent to them but their eyes were blinded. Don’t miss out on the blessings God has for you in your life because you are concentrating on finding answers apart from him. Refocus your attention on God and miracles will unfold right before your eyes.

---

PLEASE ENCOURAGE AUTHOR BELOW LEAVE COMMENT ON ARTICLE AS A MEMBER OR VISITOR