As crazy ideas go, Jesus’ idea of feeding a crowd of five thousand with two small fish and five loaves of bread is right up there … wouldn’t you agree? I mean … what was He thinking?

Gladys Aylward had little formal education, almost no money, and so, was rejected by countless missionary societies. But with barely enough for a one-way train ticket she set out alone to China, trusting God to use what she had.

Over the years, God multiplied her small “offering” into extraordinary influence: she established an inn to share the gospel, became a trusted advisor to a Chinese mandarin, reformed cruel prison practices, and during the Japanese invasion led over 100 orphaned children on a perilous hundred-mile journey to safety. What had begun with a handful of resources, in God’s hands became a lifeline for countless lives.

Confronted by Jesus’ crazy idea of feeding the five thousand …

John 6:7-9 Philip answered, “We would all have to work a month to buy enough bread for each person here to have only a little piece!” Another follower there was Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter. Andrew said, “Here is a boy with five loaves of barley bread and two little fish. But that is not enough for so many people.”

But Jesus blessed those meagre morsels … feeding the whole crowd, with twelve baskets of leftovers to spare. From that miracle onward, in the lives of countless of His followers – ordinary people like Gladys – God has made it clear:

It’s not your job to feed the five thousand. Your job is to bring the five loaves and two fish. When you give God what’s in your hands, He can turn a ticket and a trembling heart into a miracle that echoes for generations.

That’s God’s Word. Fresh … for you … today.