“O God, You are my God, earnestly I seek You; my soul thirsts for You, my body longs for You, in a dry and weary land where there is no water…My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise You.” Psalm 63:1, 5

Excerpt by Amy Carmichael:

The son found himself in a barren place. His Father said, “In this place I will give you the peace you are longing for. Here I will give you spiritual food that will nourish you. You are always with me–no matter what the circumstances–and all that I have is yours.”

Then the Father, with great gentleness, drew the son to Himself. Quietly, He said, “I am the one who allowed you to come into these humbling circumstances, and allowed you to hunger. I did this so that I might feed you with manna–My bread from heaven! Only in this way could I help you to know that you cannot live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of My mouth.”

The son said, “Give me this bread always!” And when he grew thirsty he learned to cry, “The light of Your face is my life!” …Later still, the son wondered why one like himself, who is so richly fed and cared for at times, should at other times feel so poor and needy and thirsty.

His Father replied by asking four questions:
1. “Can someone who has never thirsted know how precious is My living water?
2. “Can someone who has never discovered rivers of these living waters flowing on barren heights–can he ever lead his thirsty friends to those rivers?
3. “Can someone who has never walked the deep valleys of the spirit help a friend who is fainting–or lead this friend to the well-springs that will save the life of his soul?
4. “Can someone who has never seen burning sands in the wilderness turn into a refreshing pool–can he speak in praise of My marvels, or My power?

How quickly we forget the things the Lord teaches us. In Mark 8, Jesus again provides food for the large crowd and there are 7 baskets left over. “And they ate and were satisfied” (vs. 8). Again, Jesus teaches through His actions that He will provide for our needs and that He is more than enough. But like the disciples, we soon forget and our trust in His provision for our needs disappears…

“‘Why are you discussing the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive or understand? Are your hearts hardened? Having eyes do you not see, and having ears do you not hear? And do you not remember? When I broke the five loaves for the five thousands, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?’ They said to Him, ‘Twelve.’ ‘And the seven for the four thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?’ And they said to Him, ‘Seven.’ And He said to them, ‘Do you not yet understand?’” Mark 8:17-21

I will satisfy you; I will provide for your every need; I am more than enough. Why do you not trust Me?

“And wherever He came, in villages, cities, or countryside, they laid the sick in the marketplaces and implored Him that they might touch even the fringe of His garment. And as many as touched it were made well.” Mark 6:56

If healing comes from just a touch of the edge of His garment, how much more fulfilling and satisfying would be an embrace!

“And He called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits…So they went out and proclaimed that people should repent. And they cast out many demons and anointed with oil many who were sick and healed them…

The apostles returned to Jesus and told Him all they had done and taught. And He said to them, ‘Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.’ For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. And they went away in the boat to a desolate place by themselves. Now many saw them going and recognized them, and they ran there on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. When He went ashore He saw a great crowd, and He had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And He began to teach them many things.

And when it grew late, His disciples came to Him and said, ‘This is a desolate place, and the hour is now late. Send them away to go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.’ But He answered them, ‘You give them something to eat.’ And they said to Him, ‘Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread and give it to them to eat?’ And He said to them, ‘How many loaves do you have? Go and see.’ And when they had found out, they said, ‘Five, and two fish.’

Then He commanded them all to sit down in groups on the green grass. So they sat down in groups, by hundreds and by fifties. And taking the five loaves and the two fish He looked up to heaven and said a blessing and broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples to set before the people. And He divided the two fish among them all. And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up twelve baskets full of broken pieces and of the fish. And those who ate the loaves were five thousand men.

Immediately He made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while He dismissed the crowd. And after He had taken leave of them, He went up on the mountain to pray…And they were utterly astounded, for they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened.”
~Mark 6:7-52

I can understand why the disciples were so confused about the feeding of the five thousand. Jesus had just told the disciples to come away to a desolate place and rest because things had been so crazy that they hadn’t even had time to eat. They had been ministering, healing, and spreading the news to repent, and they needed rest from their work.

But then when a crowd gathered, Jesus had compassion on them and taught them. The disciples must have been growing impatient, wanting to get away from all the people to find rest. Jesus had shown them that rest was important. When it got late, the disciples were still focused on getting time to rest. They thought now that Jesus had taught these people, they should be sent away to buy something for themselves to eat.

But Jesus wanted to provide for them with a miracle and teach them an important lesson. He is the one who will satisfy us–spiritually AND physically. Verse 42 says, “And they all ate and were satisfied.” Jesus taught a lesson with His every word and action. Feeding the large crowd here recalls the miraculous provision of manna in the wilderness (this large crowd was in a desolate place too). The Israelites had to rely on God to provide their food each day; in the same way, we need to rely on God to provide for our every need. Through this miracle, Jesus wanted the people to understand that He was their Provider.

But having time alone to rest and pray was still important. After teaching this lesson, He “immediately” made his disciples get into the boat. Then He went up on the mountain to pray. Through example, Jesus shows us the importance of rest and prayer in our work and ministry.

“And my God will supply every need of yours according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” ~Philippians 4:19

This truth of Scripture has become more real to me in the past couple of weeks. It is so natural for us as sinful humans to constantly focus on the areas of our lives where God is not working. But when we look instead for the ways in which He is blessing us, we will be wholeheartedly encouraged. Recently I have been noticing how unstable life can be; things are constantly changing. And how can you rest secure in anything that changes? Even relationships change over time, and this can be extremely painful.

“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” ~James 1:17

What a comfort it is, in the midst of a changing world, to trust in a God who never changes! And what a joy it is to trust in a God who blesses us abundantly with good and perfect gifts! I am learning that Jehovah Jireh, my Provider, knows my every need and will supply me with blessings and encouragement exactly in the way I need it. As my needs change from day to day and year to year, the Lord supplies my needs differently.

When He changes friendships, it is for His good purpose and for His glory. I have been struggling with this concept for a while. The things that He does in my life do not always seem “good.” I have wondered how the changes in my life can be good when it feels so painful. But the Lord is always faithful to bring my struggles to a place of peace.

What a comfort it has been to rest in the knowledge that He know my every need—physically, emotionally, spiritually—and that He will satisfy my needs according to His good purpose. Even though I still struggle, I am overwhelmed by the blessings that the Lord pours into my heart. Each day brings new blessings in new ways and meets my needs in a way I would not have considered possible. Reliance on Jehovah Jireh to provide has greatly increased my joy in receiving what He has to give me.

“Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever! Amen.” ~Ephesians 3:20-21