Abundant Provision
For the Pilgrimage
By
Stanley H. Frodsham
Philip
was in a fix. Here was a crowd of hungry people – five thousand men, to say nothing of women and children. He and the
other disciples had made a recommendation to the Master that this big crowd should be sent away to the villages where they
could buy themselves victuals. But the Master had said, “They need not depart; give ye them to eat.” The Lord
came to Philip and inquired, “Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat?” He was not a bit troubled Himself.
He knew what He would do.
Philip
made a calculation. “Why, if they had two hundred pennyworth of bread it would not be sufficient for this crowd, that
every one of them take a little.” It was just here that Andrew made a remark that doubtless seemed very foolish to the
calculating Philip. He pointed to the fact that there was one lad in the crowd who had a lunch he had not eaten. Said F. B.
Meyer, “I have always wondered why that kid had not eaten the contents of his lunch basket a long while before this!”
Let us take an inventory of that lunch basket. Five loaves and two fishes! How far would that go among five thousand men?
Each loaf cut up into a thousand portions and the fishes divided up smaller than that!
That
lad gave his tiny all, the five loaves and two fishes, to the Master. And then how his eyes must have bulged out as he saw
the Master look up into heaven, thank His Father for the same, bless the tiny gift he had given, then break the bread and
likewise divide the fishes and give the same to the disciples. And, lo and behold, there was enough for that huge crowd and
to spare. Twelve basketful over! The little lad doubtless had far more that his original lunch, and how wonderful that meal
must have tasted.
Are
you in a fix? Wondering how things are going to work out? Making careful calculations? The problem does not trouble the Master.
He knows what He will do. No circumstances can embarrass Him. The children of Israel asked, “Can He spread a table in
the wilderness?” What sized table? One as large as our dining room table will all its leaves in? Could He manage to
spread that? He spread the wilderness six days a week with manna, for forty years, so that there was sufficient for all. He
who made all the stars, called them all by name, and upholds them all in their orbits by the word of His power, is quite capable
of supplying you with food and raiment. It is not difficult for Him to supply exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or
think.
But
are you willing like that little lad to put your all in the hands of the Master? Are you wanting to hold back one loaf and
one fish so that you will at least have something for yourself? Ah, you must learn to give all if you want to receive all.
One of the first lessons we learn in the Christian life is this, “Ask, and it shall be given you.” But this is
followed by a second lesson, “Give, and it shall be given unto you.” Said George Studd, “To me the gospel
tithe is all that I have, and myself thrown in.” There must be a giving up of the whole heart to the Master, and the
giving up of all that you have and are, if you are to have your whole being filled with Him and under His heavenly control.
Do
you ask, “Would there be a sufficiency of the Spirit to carry me through all my days?” The tiny minnow may question,
“I wonder if there is sufficient water in the Mississippi River to last me until I die?” The little herring might
question, “Is there enough water in the Pacific Ocean for me to swim in?” God has a sufficiency of His Spirit
for all flesh, there is a sufficiency of His Spirit for you, and He has enough grace for you. Paul gave us the secret of his
abounding life. He tells us, “I labored more abundantly than all they: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with
me.” 1 Cor. 15:10. And this all-sufficient grace, flowing from the crucified yet ever living One, who was, and is, and
always will be full of grace and truth, is available at all times and under all circumstances. Grace to save you from the
dominion and power of sin; grace to make the crucifixion of the old man, that carnal self-life – real; grace to make
you know in reality the continuous presence of Him who is ever sufficient for every trial. We do not need to fear “the
giants in the land” any more than did Joshua and Caleb when they spoke to the fearful, quaking men of Israel, “Rebel
not ye against the Lord, neither fear ye the people of the land; for they are bread for us: their defense is departed from
them, and the Lord is with us: fear them not.” Num. 14:9.
The
story is told of a minister of the gospel weighed down with a great sorrow – the loss of a much beloved child. He was
an affectionate man and was overwhelmed. He cried, “O God, I do not find grace sufficient in this heavy sorrow. But,
oh, make it sufficient.” Looking up he read a text in his room, “My grace is sufficient for thee.” 2 Cor.
12:9. Not has been, or will be, but “IS” right now sufficient. He said, “What a fool am I. How dare I ask
God to make what is?” I will get up and trust Him.” And he arose to declare in a new way the altogether sufficient
grace of the altogether sufficient Saviour. And there is an altogether sufficiency of His Spirit and an altogether sufficiency
of His grace for you and me for all times and for all places.
Hudson
Taylor tells us how he came into the Spirit-Filled life. After much fasting, agonizing, striving, and making resolutions –
all without avail – he received a letter from a friend who emphasized the fact that the Spirit-Filled life “is
not one of striving to have faith, but of looking to the 'Faithful One' who supplies our every need, for assistance.”
This letter ran as follows: “By faith a channel is formed by which Christ's fullness plenteously flows down. The barren
branch becomes a portion of the fruitful stem. He is most holy who has most of Christ within. It is defective faith which
clogs the feet and causes many a fall. Abiding – not struggling or striving: looking off to Him; trusting Him for present
power; trusting Him to subdue all inward corruption; resting in the conscious joy of a complete salvation; a salvation from
all sin: willing that He should be truly supreme. That is not new, yet it is new to me. I seem to have got to the edge only,
but to the edge of a sea that is boundless. Christ literally ALL seems to me now the power, the only power for service; the
only ground for unchanging joy. How, then, is this faith increased? Only by thinking of all that JESUS is and all that He
is for us: His life, His death, His work, HIMSELF, as revealed to us in His Word, to be the subject of our constant thoughts.
Not a striving to have faith, or to increase our faith, but a looking off to the FAITHFUL ONE seems all we need – a
resting in the Loved One entirely for time and eternity.”
Look
off to the Faithful One who supplied that ample table for the five thousand men, together with the crowd of women and children,
and gave a surplus of twelve baskets over. He declares, “I am the Lord, I change not.” Mal. 3:6. He is the same
yesterday, and today, and forever. As one writer has well said, “It is not our faith but His faithfulness that is our
safeguard.” The indwelling Christ is more than sufficient for all emergencies.
