Where did the miracles go?
19 When I broke the five loaves for the 5,000, how many baskets full of pieces of bread did you collect?” “Twelve,” they told Him. 20 “When I broke the seven loaves for the 4,000, how many large baskets full of pieces of bread did you collect?” “Seven,” they said. Mark 8:19-20
So many times preachers use this passage, but remind us that God’s blessings are often spiritual and His provision is for the soul. Well, those are true statements alright, but they do not encompass the entirety of the matter. In fact, these people that Jesus provided the miracles of fish and bread for were blessed physically! They had their “social” needs (if you will) met quite satisfactorily!
When we pray for needs that we have, do we not expect an answer? If the need is for money, do we not desire a monetary solution? Is God no longer capable of multiplying the physical, like the bread or fish that he multiplied on these occasions? Must we continue to weary God by not have faith that He can answer the physical need through miraculous means?
I realize that God often answers the monetary (for example) by providing work. I know that He will sometimes provide food through churches or food pantries, etc. However, I do not believe that God has somehow become incapable of answering through the miraculous! Jesus could have thought ahead, formed a coalition, purchased food and drink, acquired transportation, and provided for all the people at this meeting without using the miraculous. He chose not to do that. He chose to use the miraculous.
We need to consider if we are failing God by our disbelief in this area. If so, we should repent. For “whatever is not of faith, is sin.”
