Sunday Thought 71

Sometimes when I reflect back upon a year I see how “good financial principles” helped us as a family – we made wise decisions and our bank balance is better, or our debt is lower, or our retirement plan is in good shape. Making wise decisions can make a difference.

Other times when I reflect back upon a year I see that there is no way we should have come out as financially good as we did – on paper, even by applying “good financial principles” we should be worse off financially – too many financial events happened and there is no way we could have done as well as we did. Yet we did. And that is when I have to take time to thank God for His provision (which I should do anyway!).

Sometimes, God just stretches what we have and makes it go further than it should. Like when Jesus fed the five thousand:

“When He [Jesus] went ashore, He saw a large crowd, and felt compassion for them and healed their sick.

When it was evening, the disciples came to Him and said, ‘This place is desolate and the hour is already late; so send the crowds away, that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves.’

But Jesus said to them, ‘They do not need to go away; you give them something to eat!’ They said to Him, ‘We have here only five loaves and two fish.’ And He said, ‘Bring them here to Me.’

Ordering the people to sit down on the grass, he took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up toward heaven, He blessed the food, and breaking the loaves He gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds, and they all ate and were satisfied. They picked up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve full baskets.

There were about five thousand men who ate, besides women and children.      [Matthew 14:14-21]

Sometimes our resources are limited, we only have five loaves and two fish. And our financial situation needs a lot more than that. But we have a God who can take what we have and multiply it to meet the need.