Loaves and Fish

God asks for what we have today, not what we wish we had, and He uses our small obedience to do what only He can do. We do what is humanly possible and He does the miraculous, what only He can do. We walk through the loaves and fishes story and keep it practical, so you can step out of fear, drop performance pressure, and trust God with the impossible.
• the disciples facing an impossible command and learning trust
• giving God what we have right now rather than waiting for “more”
• rejecting performance-based giving and comfort-zone shrinking
• staying in our lane by obeying without controlling outcomes
• personal stories of stepping out, from moving away from family to job searching
• God’s multiplication, abundance, and provision, including the meaning of leftovers
• offering our time, treasures, and talents with honesty and cheerful surrender

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✨ Thank you for listening to Between Sisters with Ivonne.

Transcript

When God Asks The Impossible

Ivonne 0:00

Has God ever asked you to do something that you thought was impossible? What did you do? Did you ignore him? Did you argue with him? Did you just hide? Or did you just do what you wanted? There is another option. Let's talk about.

Ivonne and Wendy 0:19

Hi, I'm Yvonne and I'm Wendy. Welcome to Between Sisters with Yvonne.

Ivonne 0:26

Have you ever wondered what does God really think about my life? Whether it's broken relationships, sexuality, addiction, forgiveness, parenting, finances, and everything in between, we are going to talk about it. Together, we'll unpack biblical truths in practical ways so you can experience Jesus in the messy, beautiful moment of everyday life. My prayer is that as you apply his word, your soul will be ignited and your life transformed. So let's dive in because life with Jesus truly is the good life.

The Loaves And Fish Test

Wendy 1:05

Well, Yvonne, we're probably a lot like the disciples when Jesus asked them to feed the multitudes, which to them was impossible. And what Jesus really wanted was to see if they were going to trust him and obey him.

Ivonne 1:20

Yeah, the story is that the multitudes had followed Jesus and the disciples all day. It was getting late, and the closest city was so far. And Jesus told the disciples, hey, let's feed them. And they said, just send them away, let them get their own food. Jesus said, No, you feed them. And he asked them, he basically told them, Give me what you have. And the disciples came and they gave him five loaves of bread and two fish. Well, Wendy, do you think Jesus needed the loaves of bread and the fish in order to feed the multitudes? Well, actually, uh, Jesus created the world so he could make anything out of nothing. So actually, no, he didn't need those loaves and fishes. But isn't it interesting that he had a plan in this little story? Yes. You know what I okay. Let me tell you the things. This story is one of my favorite because, first of all, we know that Jesus did not need the disciples to give the loaves and fish in order to multiply it, right? So this is the things that I learned from

Give What You Have Today

Ivonne 2:31

this story. First of all, it's interesting that he asked them to give what they had right then and there. He didn't say go to the city next door and buy and bring it. He asked them to give what they had today. That's like us. When God asks us to do something that seems impossible to us, we need to stop and we need to ask ourselves. I mean, actually, preach to yourself. I tell myself, Yvonne, he doesn't really need you to do that. He could do everything without you. But apparently, based on the scripture and others, we see that God wants us to have a partnership with them. He wanted to teach us this concept that we do what we can do right now. I love that, Wendy. Is he didn't reprimand them like, that's not enough, boys. You know, he didn't scold them. He wanted them to give him what they had today, not what they had five years ago or will have five years from now. What they had today. And that's like with us, when God asks us to do something, I want you to remember that he asked you to do what you have today, not based on who you were 10 years ago. Remember that. It's who you are today. It's like a mommy. When you and I have four kids each, and we didn't expect our four-month-old to jog around the park, nor do we expect our three-year-old to be crawling around. Right. Exactly. Yes. So that's the same thing. God is with us. He doesn't want you to give more than you have today or to give less. We need to give them all that we have today. And you know, that's really good because what happens is if if you always want to give more, it's probably because you want to be this overachiever or this performance-based person that you think that by giving more, you're you're gonna be more accepted, more loved, more approved. And God wants us to know that He expects you to give nothing more and nothing less than what you have right now, today. And that's a beautiful thing that can bring peace to your soul when you realize God is realistic. He's not like a dictator like telling you to do more than you can. But some of us want to give less. Like we want to stay in our comfort zone. We don't want to push ourselves. That's what the disciples did, didn't they?

Wendy 4:50

Yeah, I mean, you know, that's that's where we have to recognize we can only do the human. That's all we have. And God knows that. Yes, but he does the divine, yes, and that's the beautiful combination. That's the partnership you're just talking about, Ivonne.

Ivonne 5:05

Absolutely. So, like Wendy said, we do what we humanly can do, and then we let God do what the supernatural can do, what the divine, what only God can do.

Wendy 5:16

I think it was really beautiful how the disciples must have been pretty surprised. But that's where the trust part they had to do the very first step and they had to obey and trust him.

Ivonne 5:27

Isn't that interesting that Jesus could have told him, hey guys, doesn't matter how much you bring, I'm gonna multiply it. He could have told them that. But God always wants us to trust him. Because how do you show you love him? By trusting him because you know him. Right. So if you don't know your God, you're not gonna trust him, and then you won't obey. So when God asks you something, meditate on who he is. Who's asking you? If he asks you to move to Africa or something simpler, like take cookies to your neighbor, just ask yourself who's this God that's asking me to do this? Is he mean? Is he loving? Is he powerful? Is he kind? Does he understand me? Does he know everything about me? And when you can say yes, I can trust him, he's good, he's all-knowing, then choose to obey him and give him

Stay In Your Lane With God

Ivonne 6:21

what you have. I have a sister that she um she's very much like a homebody, the opposite of me. And uh she's really good at cooking. And so she's kind of almost made this deal with God. She said, God, I have so much to do at my home, but I so I can't just go and leave, but I can cook. So you know what she does, Wendy? When people that don't have money want to get married, she caters the food for them for free.

Wendy 6:48

It's beautiful.

Ivonne 6:49

When schools, our little homeschooling group, they were doing a fundraiser at theater drama dinner. She cooked for them. So she did what she could today, not based on 10 years from now, when she'll be able to go because she won't have grandkids to take care of. She gave what God what she had today.

Wendy 7:06

You know, and that's what I think is so beautiful about how God works. He knows every intimate thing about us. He knows what we can give and what we can't give. He knows who we are, he knows how to teach us. And and the thing is, is that um, you know, that what you said about your sister is so beautiful that she got to partake. She got to participate and give what she could. Yes.

Ivonne 7:32

You know, um, we have to mind our own business. Let me explain what I mean by that. Is we don't need to know what God's gonna do. What's the next move? We always want to know because somehow that makes us feel safe. We should feel safe because we know who has the future in his hands. So we need to always, we need to always talk about the stay in your lane, which means we do what we are supposed to do, and then we let God go and do and direct us.

Ivonne and Wendy 8:01

So you need to remember that. You know, and this is another thing that I really like about this story, and that is that Christ really was pushing them out of their comfort zone. And I know so many times in my walk with the Lord, I feel that God's calling me to do something, and a lot of times there's resistance there, but he's calling me, no, do this, do it this way. So getting out of your comfort zone is something that God is often going to call us to do.

Ivonne 8:28

Yes, because it's so easy to be in your little bubble and feel safe there. I know for me, when growing up with my family, I come from a large family, we're 11 kids, and I have I had never been away from my family, not even for one night. I know that might be hard to believe nowadays, but I had not. Well, when I got married at 19, my husband got a football scholarship to come to the university. So we had to leave. And actually, he got scholarships to different states, but I didn't want to leave California because I wish I should have known, but anyway, um I wanted to be close to my family, and so Fresno was the closest. And I came here and it seemed like an impossible request that God was giving to us to come so far away. Back then it seemed far away, it was four hours. Now it seems like nothing, but um, I came, and this impossibility has been the biggest blessing in so many ways. It would take me months to tell you all the ways. Let me just mention one 85% of my family, we're 125, my immediate family. 85% of them have moved to Fresno because we came. So, what we thought was an impossibility was a way for God to bring those family members here to touch people's lives, to be impacted in a way that wouldn't have happened if I wouldn't have stepped out to do what I thought was an impossibility. I wouldn't have met Wendy. I know. One of my greatest gifts that I have is my friend. And God knew I had to come to Fresno to get her. So I just want you to remember when God asks you to do something that's impossible, stop, think about who he is asking you, obey and then stay in your lane and

The God Of Multiplication

Ivonne 10:15

wait.

Ivonne and Wendy 10:15

Yeah, you know, and I I really love this other principle I see in this story, and that is that God is a God of multiplication, which is really amazing because um I look at what the Bible says, and it says it that he's able to do beyond all that we think or ask. And I think at the end of the story, the disciples must have been amazed to find out that there were leftovers, that there was more abundance than what they would have even imagined. Well, I mean, okay, I think this is beautiful.

Ivonne 10:47

God is the greatest mathematician, He could have figured out how much to multiply so that there's no leftovers. But let me just interject something, just this is for free. I believe that everything God does, He does it purposefully. Nothing is done without thought and meaning and purpose. So there was a reason why Jesus made sure there was extra leftovers. Not only were the was there leftovers, but there were 12 baskets. How many disciples? 12 disciples. I think he wanted to give them a little reminder of how they can trust him, that he is the God of abundance and enough, that he is with them, that he will take care of them, he'll provide. He wanted them to experience what it means to partner with him and to see the fruits of the miraculous.

Wendy 11:50

I love this verse in uh 2 Corinthians chapter 9. It says that he will supply the bread for food and increase the harvest. And this is something we have to remember is that it's he who does the work, he who supplies and multiplies the harvest. It is so beautiful to know. Doesn't it doesn't depend on us, it it's not a heavy yoke, a heavy load that he gives us. Yes, it's he requires that we obey and trust him, and then he does the rest. It's so beautiful to see how God supplies everything that we need. When he calls us to do something, he will supply everything that we need.

Ivonne 12:29

Yes, and he's not a tightwat, he's not greedy, miserly. He came to give life life abundantly, right? He increases, he left leftovers. Um, so he multiplies. Yeah, he does. He he doesn't subtract. If he happens to quote, subtract or seemingly subtract, it's because he's wanting to add something that's bigger and he had to make room for it. So in your life, I want you to view it as a partnership. There are things that you are gonna have to do that God will not do for you. And I have an example on Wendy's life. Oh no. I remember she had been saying, I gotta go look for a job, a part-time job, I gotta go look for a part-time job. And she just kept saying that and praying about it and saying it. And finally I said, Wendy, you need to get out there and just go look for a job. The first job she went and look for, she got hired. We're both teachers. She got hired. It was the perfect job for her. No lesson planning. She's a tutor for math. She's very smart. And it was just so close to her home, the hours they let her basically set them for herself. So I say that to let you know and to remind you that there are things that God is not gonna do for you. There are things he will help you do, and there are things that you are not supposed to do. He's to do it because he's God. So remember that concept. There are things that only you can do that God's not gonna do. There are things that you're gonna do with God, and there are things only God is going to do that only God can do. So remember that. And um, I wanna tell you something really important. Um your time, your treasures, and your talents, think about it. Talents, you that's obviously your gifts, what you're good at, right? Your treasures are the things that you value and your time, those are the three commodities that you have. And you need to be sure that when God asks you for any to use any of those, that you are willing to do that. But always know that he's reasonable. That doesn't mean you compromise and like you know, I think of um uh uh Ananias and Sapphira. They held back, they didn't give it all. They could have decided what to do, but they decided to like lie. And how many times do we lie to ourselves when God says, Hey, give me this? You're like, I don't have time. But it's because we have time for Instagram, for Facebook, for napping, for gaming. So let's be honest with ourselves. And like how about your treasures, your house? I know God asked me to have 23 people live with me for two years. I could have easily said, My house is not big enough. But I had to say, Yes, Lord. It seemed impossible to me that 23 people can live in a three-bedroom. But we did it. So I want you to know when God asks you to do the impossible with your time, treasures, and talents, say yes. Because everything is his. And he's gonna ask you to do only what you can do today, not what the old you could do when you were young or younger, or what you're gonna do in 10 years from now when you have more time or more money. No, today. So give him what you have today, give him your loaves of bread and your fish, whatever you have. He's not gonna scold you, and then sit back, have peace. He's gonna do the supernatural, the divine. Give wholeheartedly and cheerfully. Yes. God loves a cheerful. Cheerful giver. We taught our kids that all the time. And so, my dear sister, this is a short message, but a powerful one that can revolutionize your life. I know it did mine, because it gave me a lot of uh stability and comfort and peace and joy in my soul. Because I knew that God didn't expect me to do more than I could. He expected me to give what I have today. And then I could relax. I could chill out and have peace because he was gonna do the rest. The burden was on him. I could only do my thing. That's right. He has to do his thing. And it's a beautiful way to live because you're not gonna be stressed out. Like this ministry, this podcasting. I purposed in my heart, God, I'm gonna do my part. Wendy and I, that's what we always tell each other. We just do our part, the best we can. We give it all that we can. When I say give the best you can, I'm not saying like play games, pretend this is your best, but not. No, I'm talking about genuinely, you give God your best. Nothing more, nothing less. And then it was, we're we don't know what this podcast is gonna do. And personally, I really don't care in the sense that that's not my business. I'm gonna stay in my lane. Wendy and I have purpose that we are gonna be diligent, we're gonna do everything as best as we can, and then whatever God does, He can multiply it, do whatever He wants. That's His call.

Trust, Obey, And Take Action

Ivonne 17:35

So, my dear sister, be a hearer of the Word. Do not be a doer. Don't leave this podcast and forget to apply this to your life every day. Ask the Holy Spirit, would you remind me about giving my loaves of bread and my fish when you ask me to do something that I don't think is possible, or maybe that you don't want to do. That is not your plan, and that doesn't matter. You give him the loaves of bread and the fish that you have. Trust him and obey. Yes, trust and obey, for there's no other way to be happy in Jesus than to trust and obey. And you youngins probably don't know that. That's an old song, but be a doer of the word, not just a hearer. So thank you for joining our Between Sisters conversation.

Ivonne and Wendy 18:19

And please remember to hit the subscribe button, give us a like, and share our videos with your friends and family. And one last thought. I want you, my sister, to remember listen carefully. It is so good to be loved, genuinely, authentically loved by him. God bless.