Day 36 “Unrealized Treasure”

Devotional:

In 1799, Conrad Reed discovered a seventeen-pound rock while fishing in Little Meadow Creek. Not knowing what it was made of, his family used it as a doorstop for three years. In 1802, his father, John Reed, took it to a jeweler who identified it as a lump of gold worth about $3,600 (equivalent to $76,000 today). That lump of gold, which was used as a doorstop for three years in North Carolina, was one of the biggest gold nuggets ever found east of the Rockies.

This man had a treasure for three years without realizing it. You could say the same for the disciples. They ministered with Jesus for three years before His death. And they never seemed to really grasp how magnificent and powerful He was. Take the story in today’s passage. Jesus had already done a similar miracle of multiplying the bread and the fish, but how did these disciples respond? Verse 4 tells us, “How can one feed these people with bread here in this desolate place?”

How? Hello, this is Jesus. He’s already showed you how. Pray over the few pieces you have and watch Jesus work. Perhaps we shouldn’t be so hard on the disciples. How many times have we had a hard time trusting Jesus, even though we’ve seen Him work time and time again in our lives. We sure can have a short-term spiritual memory sometimes, can’t we?

It would be a good idea for us to take time on a regular basis and remember the works of God in our lives over the years. This is exactly what the Psalmist teaches in Psalm 77:11-12: “I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember Your wonders of old. I will ponder all Your work, and meditate on Your mighty deeds.” How often are we taking time to “remember the deeds of the Lord?” Thanksgiving shouldn’t just be a holiday, it should be a way of life.

Verse 8 says, “And they ate and were satisfied. And they took up the broken pieces left over, seven baskets full.” Not only did they have all they needed, there were plenty leftover. Isn’t that just like God? He not only meets our needs, but He goes above and beyond. Jesus said in John 10, “I’ve come to give you life, and life abundantly.” His blessings are overflowing in our lives. We need to be very intentional in praising God for His goodness to us.

We need to ask when we have need, but we also need to make it a regular part of our spiritual disciplines to show gratitude through worship. If we do, perhaps we won’t forget, like the disciples did, when a need arises. We must remember that Jesus will go above and beyond, we will be filled, and there will be some left over!

Prayer:

Take some time to reflect different ways that God has shown up and meet your needs over the past year. Now spend time simply thanking Him for how he met those needs.