Remember the Loaves
OPENING PRAYER:
Lord, help me remember Your faithfulness. Soften my heart where it has grown forgetful. Amen.
After Jesus climbed into the boat and the wind died down, Mark explains why the disciples had been so overwhelmed with fear.
“Then he climbed into the boat with them, and the wind died down. They were completely amazed, for they had not understood about the loaves; their hearts were hardened.” Mark 6:51-52 (NIV)
REFLECT:
Just hours before the storm, the disciples had passed out bread and fish to thousands of people from one small lunch. They had a front-row seat to a miracle. But as soon as the wind started blowing, they forgot. Pastor Todd put it simply: they would not have lost heart if they had remembered the loaves.
Pastor Todd shared some of the “loaves” in his own life. During a season when he and Cris made the biggest giving commitment of their lives, an apartment building he co-owned unexpectedly sold, bringing a windfall they never saw coming. Years later, with three kids in college and eight vehicles in the driveway, they made an even larger commitment, and one of their kids received a full-ride scholarship. As he said, God is not “some weird cosmic ATM,” and it has looked different every time. But each one was a loaf, a reminder that God provides in ways we cannot foresee.
Trust in Jesus is built by remembering. When the next storm comes, and it will, you can look back at the times God has already come through: the healing, the provision, the door that opened at just the right time. The psalmist wrote, “I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago” (Psalm 77:11). Remembering what God has done prepares your heart to trust Him with what comes next.
APPLY:
Start your own “loaves list.” Write down three to five specific times God showed up for you. Then, as Pastor Todd encouraged, tell one of those stories to your kids, grandkids, or a friend this week.
I WILL STATEMENT:
“I will trust Jesus to take a step out of the boat.”
CLOSING PRAYER:
Father, thank You for every loaf in my story, the ones I remember and the ones I have forgotten. Keep my heart soft and my memory sharp so that I trust You in the next storm. In Jesus’ name, amen.
PRAYER REQUEST:
Share your prayer request and pray for others.