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Surrendered to Love

    by Jeannie Pallett

Inspiration from a Lad
Date Posted: January 24, 2012

A young lad has inspired me lately. One lad in the midst of a crowd of at least five thousand men stands out from all the rest. What has he done? He had been following Jesus around, listening intently to His teachings and chose to believe Jesus when He said the Kingdom of God was at hand. He got excited and dreamed of being part of the miraculous.

He believed and therefore he acted. He ran with the crowd clutching his five loaves and two fishes that he was sure would come in handy, even if it were to assuage his own hunger pangs so as not to be distracted from the life giving words Jesus spoke. His heart leapt as he imagined the possible scenarios.

Can you just imagine the scene - five thousand men plus women and children all flocking en masse to the place Jesus was teaching? A lad could easily be trampled in the hustle and bustle of the crowd, easily overlooked and ignored.

The lad had a purpose in going that I believe was different from the others. He went with five barley loaves and two fishes in hand while all of the grownups went empty handed. What was he thinking?

One lad came prepared with food...just in case...he had heard the Kingdom of God was at hand, he knew Jesus could do miraculous things and so he came prepared. Just in case.

He came with all he had, prepared to open his hands and let go, to give, to sow seed into the Kingdom of Heaven. He was hoping to see a miracle and he came with a readiness to be used.

I can imagine a lad who had heard the teachings of Jesus, heard what he knew to be the truth, saw love in amazing action. Excitement coursed through his young body as he determined that he would be a follower of Jesus. He was willing to lay his life down-he was willing to share his bread, share his food with the hungry and not count the cost.

He has shown me three things this lad has.

· Purpose

· Preparation

· Positioning

We, like the lad must purpose to be with Jesus. Purpose even when it means moving from our level of comfort and make a determined effort to spend time with Him.

Purpose, for the lad included a reason for his being in the crowd. He desired to see the miraculous. He was young and he knew he would not be the only one who got hungry so he purposed to bring bread and fish.

What do we purpose in the presence of Jesus and in the midst of His people? Are we content to fit in with the crowd or do we purpose to come with our gift of five loaves and two fishes?

Do we come with a purpose to give what we have, releasing/relinquishing our gift to Jesus to use to feed the hungry? Do we take what we have and extend our filled hands to the hungry, needy and poor?

My pet peeve for years has been the coffee break at church until ever so recently my husband suggested I look at it as a timeout in a football game that gives the key players an opportunity to regroup.

Instead of focusing on the coffee at the break, what if we purposed to ask the Lord to show us whom He had a word for...and then yield to Him our tongue. We can ask Him to show us someone who is secretly struggling and needs prayer. We purpose to be bold and bring them before the Throne of Grace. We can, each one of us purpose to speak an encouraging, sincere word, share a smile, and give a hug....

It is so easy to blend in with the congregation. But...people are hungry even in the midst of the teaching.

What will and does make a difference to the "crowd" is when even one person purposes in their heart to make a difference and choose to be the difference.

What gift can you see in your hand? Are you willing to have it taken from you in order to see the miraculous happen in your midst?

We never know what effect it will have on someone when we bestow a smile, a hug, a kind word, a prayer....consider the gift that God has given you and then purpose to use it and become skilled at it by reason of use.

Sometimes the simple paves the way to the miraculous. A young lad showed me that as I read Mark 6.

Next week we will look at Preparation...

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Biography Information:
Who am I ? I am a woman who has been pursued by a God who passionately loves me; a woman who is learning to surrender her heart and mind to that great Lover of my soul. I am a woman who is learning to die to self in order that I might live the abundant life that God has planned for me. He has ignited in my heart a passion for writing as I spend time in His Presence and  to share the tender heart of my God through the words He gives me. I am the author of Beckoned by the King and less of me and more of Him can be found at http://Psalm119Greaterthangold.net