Have you ever noticed when things get really bad, really life-threatening, that people often look up and question? They raise their heads, sometimes their fists, and ask why. Even people who deny God’s existence often do this instinctually. You can see it in videos of the grieving family members from missing flights or from sunken passenger ferries. They fall to their knees and look up. Their words are often question or blame filled. They want answers and they look up.
Jesus looks up. His disciples have presented Him with a problem. There are 5000 mouths to feed and their solution will cost them a fortune. Or it will mean that they don’t meet the need and everyone must fend for themselves. Either way their solution involves known resources and everyday solutions. But Jesus looks up.
So why does Jesus look up? I think He does it to signal to those who are watching that the solution is not an earthly one. He holds their earthly solution in His hands, the five loaves and two fish, which can’t possibly feed all these people. But this is what His disciples have gathered. They have brought what they have to Him. And Jesus looks up.
And when He looks up He speaks. He speaks so that the people around Him can hear what He expresses to the Father. He expressed thanks. This seems like a funny thing to do. I can imagine thanking the LORD for the semi tractor trailer that pulled up at that moment with the news that their refrigerator unit had just died and that all the food needed to be given away before it spoiled. That would deserve a Hallelujah. Or the local restaurant owner who liked Jesus and wanted at that moment to express it by sending over 5000 boxed lunches free of charge. Praise the Lord!
But to look up and be thankful for five loaves of bread and two fish, that doesn’t seem worthy of thanks. At least it doesn’t to me. There isn’t much of substance there. To be thankful for so little seems counterintuitive. And yet, this is exactly when Jesus gives thanks.
And the bread and fish are broken, distributed and everyone, all 5000, are fed and satisfied. And the leftovers are more than the beginning quantity. They didn’t just break even in the deal. They have one basket for each of the twelve tribes of Israel. The LORD has not abandoned His people. When Jesus looks up and gives thanks so that all can see, He is showing us the way to live. When we live a life of thankfulness, it is a life filled with provision.
Where do you look when you need help? Is your first instinct to look up to the LORD? Or do you look within yourself or to other earthly resources? Are you thankful for the amount you have, or are you always looking to get more?
The Arnold Journey 