Day 6 of 21 Day Challenge

Today as I read John 6, I noticed that it mentioned a couple of times that people were following Him because they wanted something. In verse 2, it says " and a great crowd of people followed him because they saw the miraculous signs he had performed on the sick." The next day, this crowd went to search for Jesus. When they find Him on the other side of the lake, Jesus says to them "I tell you the truth, you are looking for me, not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill." In case you don't know, this chapter is where it tells how Jesus sees this huge crowd of people coming toward Him and decides to feed them. Of course, He and His disciples know that they don't have enough money to buy food to feed all these people, but one of the disciples finds a boy who has 5 small loaves of bread and 2 small fish. There were 5000 men in the crowd, but the women and children weren't counted. It's very possible that this crowd was closer to 10,000 in size, maybe more! Can you imagine what the people must have been thinking when they see just 5 SMALL loaves of bread and 2 SMALL fish and are told they are going to eat? These people didn't just get one small piece of food. They all ate until they were FULL! Then Jesus tells the disciples to collect what was left and they FILLED 12 baskets! Jesus took such a small meal, that which was enough for just that one boy, and fed THOUSANDS of people with it and there was plenty left over! You'd think that would be enough to cause these people to believe in Jesus, but it wasn't.

The very next day, these people go in search of Jesus and finally find Him. They ask Jesus in verse 28, "What must we do to do the work God requires?" Jesus answered them in verse 29 by saying, "The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent." I thought to myself, that should be easy for these people! Their response in verse 30 is almost ridiculous: "What miraculous sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do?" I think they all needed a good Gibbs' slap! First, these people followed Him because they saw the miraculous signs He had performed on the sick. Then, they witnessed Him perform the miracle of feeding thousands of people with a very small amount of food. It should have been easy for them to believe in Him, but they wanted MORE! It made me stop and think, "Am I ever like that? Have I ever asked you for something when I should have been content with what you already have given to me? Do I ever sound like a greedy child asking for more when you have already given me so much?"

I already had quite a few verses underlined in Proverbs 15, but the very first verse is the one that I felt I needed to write about. Verse 1 says "A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger." If you've been reading my blog, you know I've been working on watching what I say and how I say it. I have a teenager who loves to argue, and a younger son who seems to be following in his sister's footsteps. I've realized that I can't get upset with my daughter's bad attitude if I am not responding properly. How can I expect her to learn if I'm not setting a good example? I've been trying hard to take that deep breath and think about what I want to say before I say it so that my response can be one that is said gently instead of harshly. I have noticed that if my daughter gives a harsh response to me and I respond just as harshly, the volume that our words are being said gets louder and louder. If I respond quietly and gently, she is more likely to also respond quieter and is more likely to admit that she was wrong. Such a simple thing, yet it can be so hard to do! I'm determined though to keep trying and really seeking God's help to strengthen me and remind me to take that breath and respond in a more appropriate manner. I encourage you to try this too, especially with those in your life that you may find it hard to talk to. Don't give up either if you fail the first time. Keep trying. It will eventually get easier. Even if they never start talking nicer to you, you won't be as stressed or frustrated at them if you allow yourself to remain calm and continue to talk in that calm, peaceful, and gentle way.