Do you not yet understand?

And he said to them, “Do you not yet understand?”

Mark 8:21

This morning I feel like Jesus has asked this question of me as His disciple. Just like His twelve were so earthly focused that they were worried about only having one small loaf of bread on the boat to share among them all, so I worry over the perceived shortages of stuff I see in my hands, missing in that short-sightedness what God has in Christ for me. It is the way self-focus robs my faith, and just at it operated among the disciples with Jesus in their very midst, so it also is disruptive of my trust in my Lord Who has promised to always be with me.

Jesus points out the irony of their worry over not bringing enough food for the boat trip. Just hours earlier Jesus had miraculously fed 4000 hungry people with just seven loaves of bread. The crowd was fed and they picked up seven baskets full of bread that they literally did not have when they started distributing the seven loaves! God had more than provided for their needs.

But as soon as there was a brief perceived shortage again, the disciples began arguing amongst themselves rather than talking with Jesus. They missed what God could provide. And in that moment of self-doubt and anxiety, Jesus asked them a hard question to pull their focus back onto Him... “Do you not yet understand?” Point made, Jesus... Fear, anxiety, and sinful worldly preoccupation all contributed to a lack of faith and a works-based mindset that blinded them to the truth literally seated among them. And that same faithless combo pulls my heart from understanding Jesus and recognizing His work in my life. I hear the question and the point is made to me: Trust Jesus. He can handle it. He will get me through. I truly do not have the resources to make it through with my meager one loaf. But if I understand Jesus, He will provide.