As people posit several theories on the Israel-US war on Iran, the reality across the world is best described in Matthew 9:33-36, which is also an encouraging word concerning the compassion of God our Father that will kick in now for His own. In Matthew 9:36 we read that Jesus was moved with compassion when He saw the multitude. His solution is always different to ours and my appeal to us is to seek His solution. He is still doing the same. 

In the miracle of Jesus feeding the five thousand in John 6:3-15 (TPT), Jesus asked Philip a question. 

As Jesus sat down, he looked out and saw the massive crowd of people scrambling up the hill, for they wanted to be near him. So he turned to Philip and said, “Where will we buy enough food to feed all these people?” Now Jesus already knew what he was about to do, but he said this to stretch Philip’s faith. Philip answered, “Well, I suppose if we were to give everyone only a snack, it would cost thousands of dollars to buy enough food!” But just then, Andrew, Peter’s brother, spoke up and said, “Look! Here’s a young person with five barley loaves and two small fish . . . but how far would that go with this huge crowd?” John 6:5-9 TPT

What was the question He asked Philip? What was Phlip’s answer? Philip’s answer is a reflection of the problem we mostly, if not all, face today as believers. Philip did not answer the question and was focused on how much money it would cost, while Jesus’ question was “where will we buy bread?” Just as the Lord was testing Philip to see if he would look to Him, Jesus, to supply all that was needed and not consider their limited resources, so will circumstances test us all. 

Jesus trumped the popular saying of “money answereth all things” at a time when the practical influence of wealth in humans failed. And we saw Jesus teaching us that FAITH in God’s faithfulness, receiving from the Source required not standing but resting on His faithfulness that:

1. the Bread of Life is your Father,
2. He is the Resurrected Lord (typed in the barley, the first crop to harvest in Israel, a picture of Jesus’ resurrected life)
3. in the place of sharing the little, the base of Paul’s doctrine in 2 Corinthians 8:2-5 (TPT), as we lift the little in an offertory of thanksgiving, in the hands of the Lord it becomes more than enough.

This is the approach to rest in today’s crisis as Paul declared in Philippians 4:6-8 (MSG).

Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life. Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Philippians 4:6-8 MSG

This is the time to enter into His rest. Selah.


Pastor Afolabi Oladele