John 6:25-70

40 Days of John

Day 10: John 6:25-70

Jesus has just fed the 5,000 and walked on water to get to the other side of the lake.  And as people get to experience Jesus, they want to know more.

And so a crowd of people have followed Jesus.  They just have so many questions.  It seems that people begin asking Jesus surface-type questions, and yet Jesus answers them in ways that uncovers what's really on their hearts, speaking to their deepest and unspoken needs.

This is a truth, I think, we need to remember in our own relationships with Jesus and in our relationships with each other.

When Jesus talks to us, He fully knows us even though we don't really fully know and understand Him, even though we may not recognize who He is in our lives.

Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe. 

John 6:35-36

These Words are a promise in our lives right now.  We have seen Jesus in our lives.  Our job is to look for Him and believe.

And, man, believing is work.  It's not easy or obvious.

But as I talk to God, and question who and where Jesus is in my life, God answers me.  And the more I talk to God, the more I begin to see Jesus for who He is, Lord and Savior of all parts of my life...always at work in me and through me.

I see Jesus in my closest friends, in strangers, even in people that frustrate me.  I see Jesus in my celebrations and in the broken and hard parts of my life.  I find Jesus in my circumstances  I still don't always understand what He's doing, but I trust that He's there.  I sense His realness that is always with me.

Just like when Jesus fed the 5,000, I think Jesus gives us these experiences with Him where He blesses us in real ways, where the situation is beyond our logical explanations.  He points us to God when we have these kinds of experiences, and we want more because it's just so good to be a part of what He's doing.

Jesus wants us to believe in Him, to know that He is from God, that He and God are one in the same, that everything He does comes from our Father in Heaven, and that He offers a way that is abundantly satisfying and filling.

Jesus tells us what we need to remember in our reading today,

"The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent."

John 6:29

Maybe You have never had a "wine to water" experience or sat with Jesus as He fed the 5,000.  Maybe you've encountered God's presence before, but right now you feel disconnected.  It's okay.  That doesn't mean God is not with you.

Like the curious people who made the effort to follow Jesus in our story for today, sometimes believing is simply talking to God about what's on our minds.  And the good news is, no matter what questions we have, no matter what comes out when we speak to Him, God knows what's really on our hearts, and God knows what we really need.

A prayer for today-

Dear God,

Thank You for giving us Jesus to save us from our mess-ups and short-comings.  Thank You for knowing me and the true needs of my heart.

Forgive me, Lord, and my lack of understanding You and the ways You are working in the world.  I pray You will help me to see You, everywhere I go.  I need You, Lord.  Enable me to see Your love in the people and circumstances I face. Show me what it really means when You tell me that "You are the Bread of Life."  Help me to trust Your way for my life, despite the limitations of my logical mind.

I have ______________________ on my heart today.  Please bless __________________ with Your realness in the middle of the struggles that come with every day life.

I love You, Lord, and I praise You!

In Jesus name I pray,

Amen

Peace of Christ,

*This post is part of A Mind-Maker-Upper's Everyday Reading Project.  Click here to read more.