Mar 6:52 For they considered not the miracle of the loaves: for their heart was hardened
The miracle of loaves. This miracle produce enough food to feed 5000 people from five loaves of bread and two fish. Imagine it for a moment. You were there you witness the miracle first hand you see the food coming and coming and coming and you know that it's an impossibility yet it's happening. Truly it was a miracle of loaves. And yet the disciples weren't considering the miracle they'd just seen when they were being tossed about by the wind out at sea in the middle of the night and they saw something coming towards them. Why? Why didn't they realize they'd just witness one miracle and this could be yet another? Why were they afraid if they believed their lives were being lived under the loving care of the Messiah? Their hearts were hardened. What does it mean to have a hardened heart? When we tell someone that so and so has hardened their heart we mean they aren't receptive to whatever it is we're talking about. They are dead set against something. A soft, open heart is a heart willing to entertain ideas, a person with a hardened heart won't entertain any ideas. But here the disciples were having not long before partaken in a miracle, for they passed out those miracle loaves and fish themselves and yet the very idea that this strange happening that night was another such miracle was incomprehensible to them. They shut off that part of themselves that was open and receptive to miracles. We might say that's to be expected, Jesus wasn't in the ship with them He'd stayed behind to pray in solitude. As long as Jesus was right there running things so they could see and hear Him as the miracles were done it'd be fine and yet isn't it true that we need to have that faith in Jesus that miracles can happen even thousands of years later after He's long since gone to heaven to minister there? We do need that faith and we need to recognize the miracles of Jesus, the big ones and the small ones.
Just a week ago my husband was sent to the ICU with a sepsis infection which weakened his already weak heart, shut down his kidneys and affected His already surgery compromised lungs and damaged his colon. The doctors were talking about the possibility of never regaining kidney function, about having to intubate him with the possibility of that compromising him for life and maybe not ever coming off intubation, on top of that they mentioned surgery on his colon which would most likely have left him with a colostomy bag- if he lived through the surgery which because of his condition was unlikely. They painted a very, very grim picture for us and needless to say we were shocked by it all and heartsick. Today my husband, a week later, has recovered full use of his kidneys without any lasting problems, he never had to be intubated the special Bi-pap mask he had to wear was able to do the necessary job for his lungs (though he's still on oxygen through a nose tube), his blood pressure has returned to normal, and the surgeon just today told him that his colon is fine and they wouldn't need to see him again. MIRACLES!
Sure, I'll get people telling me that it's not a miracle but I know it is.
Life throws many faith trying obstacles at us. We suspected my husband had lung cancer and then after a biopsy that was negative we were thrilled that it wasn't and claimed it a miracle and yet it still turned out to be lung cancer. The testing and trying of faith is a real thing. It would be easy to blame God for not *really* performing a miracle and it not be cancer, but that's succumbing to doubt in God and maybe it wasn't the miracle we thought it would be, but the lung cancer has been removed along with two lobes of his right lung and He's a good candidate for not needing further treatment. That's another blessing- originally we were told he would probably need a course of chemotherapy as well, but now they are saying that he most likely won't need even that. Blessings. Miracles.
God is amazing and while again it would be so easy to blame Him, especially when people die instead of get well, we have to know that God is with us no matter what. We don't have to like how things turn out, we just have to have faith that no matter what happens it's in His hands. My daughter said to me as it was all going on, 'God's will be done.' She's right, in all-- God's will be done and by the grace and mercy of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ may we not harden our hearts. May we consider all the miracles Jesus has performed and expect more miracles, loving Him no matter what comes our way.
Amen.
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