November 19 - Thankful Before The Miracle.

Matthew 15:36
“And he took the seven loaves and the fishes, and gave thanks, and brake them, and gave to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude.”
 
When you hear the words “the feeding of the…” most likely you finished that phrase with 5,000.
 
What a miracle that was, Jesus took five loaves of bread and two fishes, and fed a multitude of at least 5,000 people. There remained 12 baskets of fragments left over, one for each disciple.
 
Many times, we overlook a similar miracle found in Matthew 15.
 
Matthew 15:37-38
“And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the broken meat that was left seven baskets full. And they that did eat were four thousand men, beside women and children.”
 
He took seven loaves and a few little fishes, fed at least 4,000, and seven baskets full were left.
 
A cynic may say, “well, He had more food to work with and fed less people…”, all the while failing to see that it was still a miracle. 
 
The little supply that was available was brought to Jesus.
Anything His hands touched resulted in a miracle taking place. 
 
But notice the first thing Jesus did when He received what was available…
He gave thanks.
 
Jesus gave thanks to His Father for what they had before He broke the loaves and fishes into fragments.
 
He knew what He was about to do. 
He knew the miracle that was about to happen. 
Yet, He thanked God the Father before anything else happened.
 
Perhaps we should follow His example and thank the Lord for what we have and what we believe He will do before we do anything else to help our situation. 
 
Matthew 6:33
“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”
 
He may already be working on the problem.
He may have a miracle waiting for us. 
 
Perhaps He is only waiting for us to be thankful for what we have now.
 
Ephesians 5:20
“Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;”
 
Maybe He desires us to thank Him in faith believing He will come through.
 
Choose to be thankful today for the miracle that could happen tomorrow.
 
 
Bible Reading:
Ezekiel 17-18  |    Psalm 95-97