He Has the Answers

John 6:5 When Jesus lifted up his eyes, and saw a great company come unto him, he saith unto Philip, Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat? 6 And this he said to prove him: for he himself knew what he would do.

In the passage today, the Lord and the disciples have 5,000 men, plus women and children, to feed. Jesus asks Philip, "What should we do?" Wow. The Creator of the universe asks a mere mortal what to do! The passage tells us that Jesus knew what He was going to do. He asked the question in order to "prove" or test Philip. Philip's answer was one of human reasoning, not blind faith. 

Each day I'm "tested" in my Christian life. I constantly see some area, new or old, in which I need to improve. Just when I think I've got a meek and quiet spirit, something happens and I blow up in front of the children. Just when I think I've got a discreet tongue, I let some bit of gossip or criticism slip out. Then, I realize that I thought I had those areas licked, and thinking that is a pride problem. There is always something! Perhaps the test is one similar to what Philip faced, like, where will I get food for today? Or, how will I pay this bill? How often do I view those dilemmas with human reasoning and try to figure a way out, rather than pray and let God work!

I wonder what would have happened if Philip had answered the Lord with something like, "Lord, You can handle this with no sweat. I can't wait to see what You'll do!" I wonder what would happen if I did that in my own life? I think I'll do my best to face today by letting God handle the tests. When I do it myself, I always seem to fail. After all, He already knows what He will do, so I think I'll just let Him do it.