Judges 7; Acts 11; Jeremiah 20; Mark 6

I like to read about the ‘smaller’ miracles Jesus did. Although they don’t seem as magnificent as walking on water or feeding over five thousand people, they represent most of Jesus’s work during his three years of working miracles. Mark writes

“When they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret and moored to the shore. And when they got out of the boat, the people immediately recognized him and ran about the whole region and began to bring the sick people on their beds to wherever they heard he was. And wherever he came, in villages, cities, or countryside, they laid the sick in the marketplaces and implored him that they might touch even the fringe of his garment. And as many as touched it were made well” (Mark 6: 53-56).

This is one of the many times that Jesus went among the people, helping and healing wherever he could. It isn’t as immediately recognizable as when he walked on water just a few verses prior, but it puts his life’s work in perspective. Most of Jesus’s time was spent helping others, and these verses remind me that helping others was part of the lifestyle he intended for his followers. Jesus delivered these people from the effects of a fallen world, just as Jeremiah proclaims when he says

“Sing to the Lord; praise the Lord! For he has delivered the life of the needy from the hand of evildoers” (Jeremiah 20: 13).

Although Jeremiah is overcome with despair, and even goes on to lament his own birth, he still recognizes that God is worthy of praise and worship. This is an inspiring declaration and reminds me to praise God even during tough portions of my life when it seems like the path he wants me to walk is too much to handle.

Dear God, thank you for everything you have done for me. Thank you for the friends and family that you have put in my life. Please help me to give you praise and glory even when hard times and trials come. In Jesus’s holy name I pray. Amen.

Asher (AsherB)

 

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