Have you noticed how your heart sinks every time you see a petrol station? How expensive is petrol?!! I’m assuming you’ve noticed your food bill going up too. And I’m particularly concerned for people who stretched to buy a house only for interest rates to increase your loan repayments too. These are not easy times for many people.

So how do we look at all of this as followers of Jesus? How should we approach money? I’ll probably write a bit more on this in the coming weeks but I want to start in the most important place. We start with faith.

In John’s account of the feeding of the 5,000, he notes that Jesus already knew what he was going to do but wanted to give the disciples a test (John 6:6). “Where shall we buy bread?” Phillip responds by assessing the finances and calculates it would need 6 months wages which clearly no one had. Andrew joins in and looks at the resources they have - 5 loaves and two fish - and they come to the same conclusion. It’s not enough.

I see the same reaction in us when faced with a challenge. Can I fix this with money? Do I have the stuff to sort this myself? I wonder what reaction comes out in you when ends don’t meet. Where do you turn?

Jesus purposefully put the disciples in this moment to test them. He let them try and work it out. Then he took the tiny portions they had and catered for a giant picnic (probably 20,000 people) with 12 basketfulls left over. They had more leftovers than they had to start with.

Jesus takes something very ordinary like food and proves that even in such a basic area of life, he cares and is capable of providing more than enough.

Nothing in what I am saying excuses us from doing our best to make good financial choices or seeking the right advice. Those things are good. But can I encourage us not to reduce our expectation to the depth of our pockets. We have to approach this in faith.

Jesus was teaching his disciples that everything they could ever need in life comes from him. He is our provider. He knows our every need before we do. He can provide in a moment in time and out of nothing. I have seen time and time again how God can provide just what we need at just the right time. In my experience, it seems God chooses a new way to provide every time. It’s like he’s letting me know that he is the one who provides. Sometimes very practically. Sometimes through a person. Sometimes an out and out miracle. But over the years I have learned that he is more than enough and I’m praying that in this season we would all learn that too.

Much love,
Simon

This post is part of the Senior Pastor’s weekly blog. Go to the blog feed >>

Why is everything so expensive?