His disciples were hungry …
Summary: Understanding God’s perspective on our lives is helpful if we want to understand why we don’t have everything we want.
There is a passage in Matthew’s gospel that goes like this:
“At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick some heads of grain and eat them.” (Matthew 12: 1)
The disciples following Jesus were hungry. More to the point, their “flesh” was hungry. The body has ways of telling us when it needs things like air, water, and food.
So what does Jesus do when his disciples are hungry? Does he make a table appear with a feast spread out over it? Does he conjure up a quick meal of shrimp salad? Does he provide anything?
No.
Nothing.
The disciples are so hungry they are eating raw grain.
Yuck!
Keep in mind that this might have been a common occurrence. These guys were not on a luxury cruise. Even though they were hanging out with the King of Kings, they ate like the lowest of the low.
Why?
God’s Word continually confronts us with the difference between our wants and our needs. The body wants yummy food, but what does it need? Does it need fish and chips, or does it mostly want them?
I just finished reading a book by James Nestor titled, “Breath.” It is an interesting read about how we breathe and how our breathing is affected by things like body posture and diet. Apparently, moving from a diet of hard grains that require lots of chewing to more refined foods affects our breathing and teeth.
Have you ever heard the saying, “Use it or lose it”? When we don’t use our teeth as intended, they grow crooked. We end up having them pulled out, and then our jaws and other bone structures begin to shrink inward. According to Nestor’s book, this results in changes in our upper palette that reduce our breathing capacity. Examination of hundreds of old skulls shows that people groups as recently as the eighteenth century had better teeth and more open nasal passages because of their diet of unprocessed foods.
Eating raw grain was actually good for the disciples’ teeth. What is good for the teeth, in this case, is good for the jaw, and what is good for the jaw keeps people breathing better.
Hmmm…
Did Jesus know this?
Do bears eat berries?
The point of this meditation is that God knows things about us that we don’t. He knows what we need, and he gives us what we need. Just because we want something doesn’t mean we should have it. (Does God sound like a parent or what?!)
If we step back and look at the BIG PICTURE and remember that we are primarily spiritual beings, then the question of what we “need” changes even more. If what we have distracts us from doing God’s will and puts us at risk of not being with God in heaven (Matthew 25: 1-13), then it is not something we need. Instead, it is just the opposite! Because we can’t know what God knows, we trust him if we want to be with him.
Application: Think twice before you complain about what God has given you.
Food for Thought: How does seeing the BIG PICTURE change your view of where your life is right now?
How does seeing the BIG PICTURE change your view of where your life is right now?
I’m not sure if I’m able to see the big picture. I can be told about the big picture and explained about the the war going on. That theres a battle over souls and some sacrifices need to be made for our side. I can relate and understand that explanation. Or Maybe I’m fine with keeping my eyes on God and trusting Him. Like a child I have to trust that God does see the Big Picture and I have to agree with His plan. I might be afraid of some paths that are narrow and have drop offs on both sides or I might have to step into situations that are unknown blindly but they are easier when I hear His voice or He holds my hand guiding me.
” (Does God sound like a parent or what?!)” Yes, He does but He is so much better and loves us all. That’s why I call Him my Perfect Father in Heaven.
Jesus knows everything God knows, and yes Yogi the bear eats berry pies.
“Like a child” is a very safe place to be, biblically speaking!
How does seeing the BIG PICTURE change your view of where your life is right now?
To me The Big picture is a battle, a war over good and evil, right and wrong, truth and lies. Spirit and flesh, the Kingdom and this world, Jesus and me me me (tim). Its a fight all around us in our relationships, our homes, our schools, politics/government, TVs, phones, news, even in the churches.
As I’m in bed with my wife asleep next to me , phone in one hand and bible opened, I am reminded to be thankful for all God has blessed me with, all the opportunities for WKU and for prayer. So now I get to read and pray for everyone I can until I fall asleep.
Sleep well! 🙂
12-30-2022, How does seeing the BIG PICTURE change your view of where your life is right now?
My thoughts go to John the Baptist.
He had seen Jesus coming, proclaimed Him to be the lamb of God, He was astonished that Jesus, the sinless Son of God, would ask John to baptize Him, felt he should be the one asking Jesus to baptize him!
As soon as Jesus was baptized and came up out of the water, the heavens opened, and John sees the Spirit of God descending like a dove upon Jesus and hears God’s voice from heaven say “This is my Son, the beloved, whom I have approved.”
Not long after this we see John who had given his whole life to serving God, sitting in prison waiting to have his head cut off for speaking out against evil.
Matthew 11:2-5 tells us:
1.) For a brief moment, this Giant of a man, John lost sight of the big picture and to recalibrate, he turned to God.
When John, who was in prison, heard about the deeds of the Messiah, he sent his disciples to ask him, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?”
2.) Jesus opened Johns heart to what was really happening.
Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see:
The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor.
GOD”S WILL WAS BEING DONE, and John found peace.
In Mathew 11:11, Jesus tells us, “among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist”
It is not wrong to sometimes not see the big picture and turn to Christ for clarification.
Thanks Ron!
Truly, God accepts us where we are; whether we can see the big picture or not. Yet, as a believer, consciously asking Big Picture questions, like John the Baptist did while in prison, helps us stay grounded while we are still on the earth.
Good comments. Ron, I love your perspective on this and the passage you went to with John the Baptist. That is a great example of trusting the One who sees the big picture.
My first response is that I can’t see the big picture. Only God sees the big picture, which is why we need to trust Him. The first passage I thought of was the famous Proverbs 3: 5 – 6 passage.
His word tells us the big picture of history and its outcome. That is very helpful. But I can’t see the big picture of details of my personal life. So I need to trust in His promises by trusting Him. He tells me that I can and I do know the end game. John 14: 1 – 3.
Proverbs 3:5-6
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways submit to him,
and he will make your paths straight.”
Great passage! The John 14:1-3 is excellent, too. I love the Father’s house with many rooms.