What are You Going to do About It?

^5 So when Jesus looked up and noticed a huge crowd coming toward him, he asked Philip, “Where will we buy bread so that these people can eat?”

^6 He asked this to test him, for he himself knew what he was going to do.

^7 Philip answered him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread wouldn’t be enough for each of them to have a little.” (John 6:5-7)

Have you ever been forced to stare down the barrel of an impossible situation?

Have you ever been faced with an overwhelming circumstance?

A cancer diagnosis? An impossible spouse? A lost neighbor? A difficult boss? Your company being bought out? A prodigal child? The loss of your best friend? A missions calling to another country?

Do you ever feel like the Lord says, “What are you going to do about it?”

Is there are part of you that gets upset Him? Part of you that wonders why He allows such things? Part of you that gets bitter and angry and mad? Part of you that just wants it go away? Part of you that pushes it away by some unhealthy means?

Has anyone ever said to you, “God never puts more on you than you can handle,” and your thought was, “Yeah, right”?

Philip has been there. When He and Jesus saw 12,000 – 15,000 people coming toward them wanting something to eat, Jesus asked him what he was going to do about it. At least, that’s what he heard Jesus say.

Philip’s response says everything we need to know about what he believed and what he heard. Philip didn’t know who (God) it was asking him the question, nor did he understand the nature of the question itself. Philip saw an impossible situation that was too much for him to handle, got angry, and tried to push the problem away.

We do the exact same thing. We see an impossible situation. We forget it’s God who is walking with us. And we try to ignore the circumstance by numbing ourselves to it.

But when you understand it’s God who asks the question and that God uses the word “we” in the question – that changes things. Jesus never said, “What are you going to do about it?” That’s apparently what Philip heard, but not what Jesus said.

Jesus said, “What are we. . . ?”

If we aren’t careful, we – like Philip – will miss the point of it all. Signing up to follow Jesus means we will never – EVER – be alone again.

Sure. Jesus puts more on us than we can handle. Because we were never meant to handle it alone. The extreme circumstance is God’s invitation to join Him. It is a means by which you get to experience freedom in saying, “I cannot do this and I need You to show me what You are doing.” It’s a way to join Jesus in what He is doing, realizing that He is the Bread of Life for you and your soul. Not your circumstances. Him.

So. What has Jesus put in your life right now. . . to do with Him?