Happy Memorial Day! It is because some brave young men gave their lives, we are able to enjoy the freedom we have in this country. I shudder to think what would’ve happened if the U.S. didn’t join the war in WWII, for example. We would likely be under the control of Nazi fascism! Those young lives were buried as seeds and we now enjoy the fruit.

This morning, I was meditating on Mark 8, reading over the familiar passage of Jesus feeding the 4,000 with just a few loaves of bread and some fish. What I hadn’t noticed before is that neither the crowd nor the disciples really understood what Jesus had done. They didn’t realize that Jesus had miraculously multiplied the few bread and fish and provided for them all! Even the disciples had missed this! “How could they? It was so obvious!” Well, obvious to us because the Bible clearly states that Jesus multiplied it. But when Jesus took the basket and prayed over it, He didn’t tell the disciples, “Watch! I’m going to miraculously multiply the food!” He simply gave the disciples the food and they distributed. In their confusion and slowness, they probably thought, “Wow, some rich person must’ve donated all this food! Or maybe a bread factory suddenly had to throw out all these almost-expired breads…”

The moral of the story is that oftentimes God is performing miracles around us and we don’t even realize it. In our slowness of heart and confusion, even though it was God who provided, we attribute it something or someone else for what He has done. Because we are not spiritually awake, we miss the miracles that God might be performing all around us.

Oh, Lord, open our eyes so that we may see your providence.

Open our ears that we may hear your voice.

Open our minds that we may understand your ways.

Open our hearts that we may feel your presence!

PH