Jesus just turned five loaves of bread and two fish into a feast for five thousand families. Clearly He demonstrated that there is no limit to His creative power. When they were hungry again, He could simply do it again, right? Why would there be need to collect the leftovers? Why not just make more food, I mean… It was easy to do the first time… Just make more again!

No. Jesus directed them to collect all of the leftover scraps so that nothing was wasted, nothing. Every crumb of bread is precious.

There is a fine line between walking in faith that God will provide for our needs on a daily basis, and walking in arrogance of not valuing that sustenance. Even when God brings bread by miracle day after day, we must never become complacent, never grow wasteful of what is provided each day. It is a matter of attitude.

Shortly after baptism, Jesus went into the wilderness to be tested of satan. One of those tests was to turn stones into bread because Jesus was very hungry from fasting. Jesus refused. He would not use His own creative power on himself, even though He clearly could have. He did not waste it on hunger. But here, later, Jesus did exactly that to feed those who came to hear truth and to use that miracle as a teaching lesson. No longer wasteful, no longer selfish, but now productive.

And still, after such a powerful show off creative power, Jesus still did not want any waste.

We must take this to heart. God provides, yes. But He provides needs, not wants. And He expects us to respect every provision as sacred, not something lightly wasted. Not in thinking “I don’t need to save the leftovers, God will just feed me again tomorrow”. No! With that attitude, you sir may soon find yourself hungry.

Whatever God provides us, cherish. Be a good steward. Be thankful and grateful for each crumb. Crumbs created by the finger of God.

In the end there were twelve baskets of leftovers. The number of completion, twelve. Twelve tribes of Israel, twelve disciples, twelve months in a year, twelve is a symbolic number. The leftovers were sacred! They were the completion of the miracle. Not only were the people fed, but God left a sign to us in the twelve baskets left. In doing His will, for His purpose, we will eat. But also there is a plan for the extra, don’t waste it!

Ask God to reveal to you the twelve baskets in your life, the extra, the leftovers waiting to be counted. Don’t move on till you see the completion of God’s mighty hand in your life. Don’t live by the miracle, by the full stomach, but rather live by the truth! Be fed more on the abundance of Truth than the bread provided.

Stop and collect the leftovers, cherish God’s mighty hand. See the big picture. See end to end, edge to edge. Jesus didn’t just feed five thousand, He did something much greater. He turned 7 (5 and 2) into 12. Let him complete the work in your life now… Go collect the crumbs, and see God’s work.