“They all ate as much as they wanted, and afterward, the disciples picked up twelve baskets of leftovers!” Luke 9:17
Can you imagine the scene? There they were, gathered along a Galilean hillside as far as the eye could see. So many, in fact, that just the men alone numbered about 5,000. When you add in the women and children, some believe it could have been upwards of twenty thousand people. All those folks coming out to hear the words of Jesus. Why? Because they were hungry.
Yes, we know how the story goes, and, in the story, hunger crept in on the people because they stayed so long. But there was another hunger present that day, and it was the kind of hunger that can only be filled with His presence. The “Good Shepherd,” Jesus, demonstrated this by meeting both needs that day. Jesus, being concerned about both, relied on the power of the Holy Spirit to feed all of those people for the Father’s glory.
Aside from the power of the Holy Spirit, there was another power source Jesus tapped into that day in order to accomplish this mission, and that was the power of thanksgiving. Jesus took that meager offering of five loaves and two fish, lifted them up before the Father, and gave thanks.
In a recent conversation with someone, I shared that when I find myself in a dry place, and spiritual hunger pains hit me, the quickest way I’ve found to get full again is to start giving thanks. When I begin to thank the Lord for His goodness and for all He has done for me, I find that the cares of the world begin to quickly fade, and my heart becomes so full. And the good thing about feeding on thankfulness is I can eat as much as I want and as often as I please.
In spite of the setbacks, circumstances, loss, or heartache that may come our way, we can choose to have hearts full of thankfulness. Just look at the word “thank-ful-ness,” the state of being completely filled with thanksgiving.
Today, if you find yourself running on empty, start feeding from His bountiful table of thanksgiving, and your heart will become full!