Talk about practical! Sunday school started out rather ordinarily, but it quickly got very convicting. The teacher had us read the story of Jesus feeding the multitudes, and then he pointed out something I’d never noticed before.

It was the end of a very long day, the people were tired and hungry, and the disciples were ready to check out. They had put in their time. They had served, they probably had a good attitude about it, and they had been patient all day. But now it was the end of the day. It was time for a little time away. So they mentioned to Jesus that it was time to send the folks on their way so they could all get something to eat and have some time to themselves. That’s when Jesus said something they weren’t expecting.

“Feed them.”

Huh? Excuse me? You must not have heard me properly. I’m tired! It’s the end of a long day! I’ve given of myself all day, and now it’s my turn to have a little “me” time! I deserve a break!

But Jesus was finally ready for the big miracle of the day. Now that everyone was tired and had used up their own resources, it was time to get the show going, so to speak. He took the fish and bread and started serving supper.

How often do I crave my personal time at the end of the day? Many, many times I’ve complained that my work day doesn’t end until after 10 pm. I complain that my husband gets to leave work before supper, but I have to keep working even if I don’t feel like it. Saying these things makes me feel like a pretty special person. I feel like a martyr who is giving to the cause. And I feel a little justifiably irritable in the process. After all, I DESERVE a break. This is MY time being taken from me by children and chores.

But what if I interpret my daily tasks in light of this story in the Scripture. Instead of feeling inconvenienced when my day starts to stretch on forever, I should perk up and realize that it’s finally time for the miracles to start happening! After all, now that I’ve used up all of my resources and have nothing left to give to anyone, the Holy Spirit can start flowing through me.

I guess I always thought that God would feel sympathetic to my plight of being overstretched and overwhelmed. After all, He doesn’t really expect me to keep up with all these demands on me, does He? Well, maybe He does! Maybe the very reason He’s piling on the responsibilities is so I will quickly empty my vain reserves and then turn the party over to Him.

It’s something to think about.