YOU!

Jesus looked at them, his eyes blazing with fire, sending a ping of terror straight to his soul. What was he about to say?

"They need not go away. You give them something to eat."

What did he just say?

Peter looked at John. His eyes were round and bug-like, so he must have heard Jesus correctly.

Matthew bumped him on the arm. Leaning in he whispered, "Did he just say, 'You give them something to eat?'"

Peter nodded without taking his eyes off Jesus. What was he planning?

You. The word thumped around in his mind. They were in the middle of nowhere. Dirt and rocks were everywhere with patches of greenish-brown grass dotting the landscape. The sun was high in the sky, the air warm and draining. No lakes to fish. No fruit to pick. What did he expect them to do?

James piped up, sounding sheepish, but voicing the question they were all thinking. "We have only five loaves here and two fish."

Jesus grinned. "Bring them to me."

Based on Matthew 14:15-18

So I was reading this and the word "you" popped out at me. Neon, flashing, bold font. Jesus said, "YOU give them something to eat."

You.

The disciples had been with Jesus for a little while at this point. They had seen some pretty awesome miracles and heard some awesome lessons on faith. They were equipped. They could have done this. Jesus wanted the disciples to flex their faith muscles and feed the 5,000. Jesus had already given them the faith tools to do this.

The disciples just needed to take the step.

"Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." Hebrews 11:1

God has equipped us with the faith and authority to do amazing things. He's telling you to do them. Stop being afraid. Stop putting it off. Stop saying you're not equipped. He has already given you everything you need!

"The Lord your God who goes before you will himself fight for you, just as he did for you in Egypt before your eyes." Deuteronomy 1:30

You don't have to be afraid when you look at the crowd of 5,000 people waiting for you to do something awesome, because God is the one who is going to do it. But if you're willing to feed them, then He will work through you when He does it.

V. Joy Palmer