Then the apostles gathered to Jesus and told Him all things, both what they had done and what they had taught. 31 And He said to them, “Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.” For there were many coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat. 32 So they departed to a deserted place in the boat by themselves. 33 But the multitudes saw them departing, and many knew Him and ran there on foot from all the cities. They arrived before them and came together to Him. 34 And Jesus, when He came out, saw a great multitude and was moved with compassion for them, because they were like sheep not having a shepherd. So He began to teach them many things. 35 When the day was now far spent, His disciples came to Him and said, “This is a deserted place, and already the hour [is] late. 36 “Send them away, that they may go into the surrounding country and villages and buy themselves bread; for they have nothing to eat.” 37 But He answered and said to them, “You give them something to eat.” And they said to Him, “Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread and give them [something] to eat?” 38 But He said to them, “How many loaves do you have? Go and see.” And when they found out they said, “Five, and two fish.” 39 Then He commanded them to make them all sit down in groups on the green grass. 40 So they sat down in ranks, in hundreds and in fifties. 41 And when He had taken the five loaves and the two fish, He looked up to heaven, blessed and broke the loaves, and gave [them] to His disciples to set before them; and the two fish He divided among [them] all. 42 So they all ate and were filled. 43 And they took up twelve baskets full of fragments and of the fish. 44 Now those who had eaten the loaves were about five thousand men.

– Mark 6:30-44 (NKJV)

Life is busy. Most weeks we run on full throttle. I’m up early and in bed late. I feel like there isn’t enough time in the day. I’m an introvert and I crave those moments of finding an alone space and resetting. But more often than not there is someone, somewhere that needs something from me. If I’m not careful, it can lead to burnout. I’ve been near burnout before and it’s not fun.

So how do you minister to needy folks around you when you have met the limits of your capacity? You trust Jesus. Honestly, some of the most fruitful times of my life have been when I’ve had little to nothing left in the tank. It’s those moments when I have little to nothing to offer those around me that I realize my own dependance on Jesus.

The disciples sized up the situation and estimated that the crowd should go home. They didn’t have enough to feed themselves, much less the crowd. But that day they learned the lesson that little is much when it’s in the hands of Jesus. He took what little they had and fed a large crowd and there were lots of leftovers. It’s Jesus who makes the difference, we simply offer what little we have and he makes much of it.

Father, We love you and want to grow in knowledge of you and your word. Help us to be faithful in the small things so that we might witness you do big things. Take the small that we have to offer and use it for your kingdom and glory. Help us to recognize that we can do nothing on our own, but when we are submitted to you we will see you do great things. Please guide us in your will and direction for us. In Jesus Name, Amen.