Today’s Reading: John 6:1-21

Jesus went away to a remote area to grieve the death of John the Baptist but the crowds followed him. He had compassion on them and healed their sick but it was getting late and the people were getting hungry. They were quite a distance from the villages, so the disciples encouraged Jesus to send the crowds away so that they could begin their walk back to where they could buy food.

This is your chance, Jesus! It’s getting late and the crowd is getting hungry. This is the perfect opportunity for us to lose this crowd and have some alone time. But instead Jesus turned to Philip and asked, “Where can we buy bread to feed all these people?” He was testing Philip, but Andrew is the one who spoke up in faith that there was a boy who had five loaves of bread and two fish.

“Tell everyone to sit down,” Jesus said. So they all sat down on the grassy slopes. (The men alone numbered about 5,000.) Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks to God, and distributed them to the people. Afterward he did the same with the fish. And they all ate as much as they wanted. After everyone was full, Jesus told his disciples, “Now gather the leftovers, so that nothing is wasted.” So they picked up the pieces and filled twelve baskets with scraps left by the people who had eaten from the five barley loaves. — John 6:10-13

Instead of sending the people away, Jesus invited them to sit down and allow him to supply their needs. He broke bread and they ate as much as they wanted. The great love of our Savior was displayed that day. At a time when both tradition and human reasoning gave him permission to pull inward and enter a time of grieving, Jesus had compassion on others and thought more of their needs than his own. What a great example for us today. But now that the needs of the crowds had been met, Jesus set another great example for us — he separated himself from the people in order to spend some time alone with his Father.

Immediately after this, Jesus insisted his disciples get into the boat and cross to the other side of the lake, while he sent the people home. After sending them home, he went up into the hills by himself to pray. Night fell while he was there alone.

Meanwhile, the disciples were in trouble far away from land, for a strong wind had risen, and they were fighting heavy waves. About three o’clock in the morning Jesus came toward them, walking on the water. When the disciples saw him walking on the water, they were terrified. In their fear, they cried out, “It’s a ghost!”

But Jesus spoke to them at once, “Don’t be afraid,” he said. “Take courage. I am here!”

Then Peter called out to him, “Lord, if it’s really you, tell me to come to you, walking on the water.”
“Yes, come,” Jesus said.
So Peter went over to the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus. But when he saw the strong wind and the waves, he was terrified and began to sink. “Save me, Lord!” he shouted.

Jesus immediately reached out and grabbed him, “You have so little faith,” Jesus said. “Why did you doubt me?” – Matthew 14:22-31

Jesus took time to be alone with God but did not turn away from the needs of others. I strongly believe in taking time to grieve; I strongly believe in spending time alone in God’s presence. God calls us to this. But He also calls us to walk away from that time filled with Him in such a way that we are ready to care more about others than we do about ourselves. This is not always easy to do.

Lord, thank you for the compassion you daily show your people. You are a God who supplies our needs and meets us at our time of crisis with the words, “Don’t be afraid. Take courage. I am here!” Only you know what lies before us this week. As we fill ourselves with Your presence, please go with us. Give us eyes to see and ears to hear the needs of others around us. May we focus on you and in doing so see others, rather than focusing on our own needs. In your power, may we experience the kind of faith that has us walking on water – believing that you will supply our needs so that we can turn our eyes off our own situation and see the opportunities around us. Amen.

After they had crossed the lake, they landed at Gennesaret. When the people recognized Jesus, the news of his arrival spread quickly throughout the whole area, and soon people were bringing all their sick to be healed. They begged him to let the sick touch at least the fringe of his robe, and all who touched him were healed. – Matthew 14:34-36