A Canaanite woman has just displayed great faith and Jesus evidently wanted her faith to be manifested to his disciples so that they would learn from it. Now comes their turn to exercise faith. Many were following Jesus and he was performing miracles of healing and restoration. This is the kind of atmosphere in which it should have been easiest to believe for the impossible. It is at this time that Jesus turns to his disciples and expresses his desire that this multitude of people be given something to eat. They respond with despair even though they had been in this situation not long before and they had seen Jesus feed many more people than were now present with fewer provisions to begin with (Matthew 14:13-21). They should have learned from the first miraculous feeding of the multitude, but Jesus is giving them another chance. This is why things happen here in the same pattern. First, Jesus asks them to give him what they have, which they nervously do. Then he multiplies what they give to feed thousands and, in the end, they find their own supply replenished many times over. Jesus was teaching them how Kingdom service works. When it comes to your contribution to the Kingdom of God, the extent of your resources, personal or material, is irrelevant. It’s not about how much you have but about your willingness to give what you have. If you give, God will expand what you give and replenish you many times over. God is not asking you for big things. He wants continual small acts of obedience. This is how we change the world.
Think about what small acts of obedience God is asking from you today.
Read Matthew 15:29-39
