Some Thoughts on Turning Stones to Bread

How can organizations and individuals deal with economic shortages? Our human sense of things may tell us the only solution is to have more of something we don’t have – such as more money, more time, or even more opportunities. I have been wondering if we are correctly identifying what it is that we need more of. Perhaps what we need is more spiritual recognition and acknowledgement of what constitutes our supply and who meets our needs.

The Bible tells us of a time when Jesus had been in the wilderness for many days and was facing a shortage of food. According to the Bible account, the devil came and tempted Jesus to use his personal power to turn stones to bread. Jesus refused to follow the devil’s advice, giving as his reason: “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4). The Bible tells us that as a result of his steadfast reliance on God ,that angels came and took care of Jesus. We don’t know the specific form this care took, but whatever it was, Jesus’ needs were met.

It is interesting to note, that on a later occasion when Jesus was in the countryside with a large crowd of thousands of people that needed food, he again did not resort to turning stones to bread. Jesus calmly gave the people what he had – a few loaves of bread and a couple of fish – and trusted that this would be sufficient. And, it was!

In both of these cases, the answer to the problem did not involve obtaining more of some material substance. Jesus relied on what God had already provided and his trust in God’s provision was justified.

When I first left the home I grew up in to live on my own, I had an entry-level job with a small salary. Although I was very frugal about how I spent my money, I was concerned that there never seemed to be any money left over at the end of a month. My concern reached a climax when one of my monthly paychecks was lost in the mail.

As I pondered this situation it became clear that I had to look to God and not money to meet my needs. I realized that I was an employee of God, wholly dependent on Him for my supply and that what God supplied would always be sufficient to meet my needs.

From then on I felt secure about my financial situation. I still spent my money wisely, but I did not hoard it, worry about it, or spend undue hours making elaborate budgets. Although my income did not change right away, from that time on my bank account always had sufficient funds. I recognized that my finances were the human manifestation of God’s supply which is continuous and unfailing.

I had an opportunity to affirm these truths again a few years ago when I left my long term employer to be self-employed. My move coincided with a major stock market decline and business recession. I was tempted to be concerned about my income. Every time these concerns came I would turn my thought to contemplating these truths that I had learned before – that God is our real source of supply and that God supplies each of us out of His abundant and unwavering love for us. Once again, there was no need for me personally to “turn stones to bread”. The resources that were provided to me from God were sufficient for my needs.

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Follow this link for some more thoughts on turning stones to bread
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