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Her anthem was, “Don’t look for big things, just do small things with great love.” Yet Calcutta, India, would’ve never known the compassion of Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu if she had let a sense of inadequacy cripple her before she became known as Mother Teresa. Small of stature, yet rocklike in faith, Agnes had only three pennies and a dream. What could she do with so little?

One day she approached her superiors and announced, “I have three pennies and a dream from God to build an orphanage.” Her superiors could not believe what they were hearing! After snickering a bit, they said, “You can’t build an orphanage with three pennies. With three pennies you can’t do anything.” Agnes just smiled and replied, “I know. But with God and three pennies I can do anything!”

Have you ever felt inadequate in what you had to offer God? Eleanor Powell is credited with saying, “What we are is God’s gift to us. What we become is our gift to God.” But for many of us, our gift to God doesn’t feel like much. That’s why I love the story of Jesus feeding the multitudes. It’s found in all four gospel accounts: Matthew 14, Mark 6, Luke 9, and John 6.

Crowds are coming to Jesus in desperate measures and large numbers. The disciples were exhausted and drained, or as my grandma would say, “They were worn to a frazzle.” They wanted Jesus to send the crowds away and then check into a cozy bed and breakfast. But instead, Jesus begins to stretch their faith.

It’s late in the day, people are hungry, and the crowds are now getting fatigued when Jesus makes an utterly ridiculous statement that catches the disciples off guard: “You give them something to eat” (Luke 9:13). Unfortunately scripture doesn’t reveal facial expressions, but I would’ve loved to see a selfie of the disciples at this moment. “Come again, Jesus?” “You want who to feed them?” Philip is quick to brief Jesus on the reality of the dire situation: “Two hundred denarii worth of bread would not be enough for each of them to get a little” (John 6:7). This was no small measure. Philip is saying that roughly eight months’ worth of wages wouldn’t be enough to sufficiently meet this need.

It was obvious to the disciples that they didn’t have enough resources to feed even a fraction of the crowd that day. Yet with this shocking statement, Jesus is challenging both their faith and their compassion.

Now to do some simple metrics here, Matthew tells us there were 5,000 men plus the women and children (Matthew 14:21). If there were two to three children for each man and woman, we’re talking about providing dinner for the entire city of Paducah, Kentucky. That’s enough people to fill a modern day NBA arena, or close to the average attendance of a Major League Baseball game.

Jesus could’ve met this need in a variety of ways. He could’ve given a command and had a sandwich miraculously appear in every person’s hand. He could’ve had angels swoop down in breathtaking fashion and given each family a basket of fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and cornbread on the side. But the manner in which Jesus performed this miracle is very significant. He uses what seems to be nothing more than a Happy Meal, a little boy’s lunch, to feed thousands of people.

This incident boldly underscores that great things can happen when our inadequacy meets Christ’s sufficiency. I believe the Lord performed the miracle in this way to teach the disciples that His method for meeting the needs of a lost world is through people—utterly, seemingly insignificant, small people, I might add.

I seriously doubt this little boy set out to be part of a miracle that day. We can bet that he didn’t wake up that morning expecting Jesus to be able to take his small lunch and feed an entire city. If the boy had held back his lunch because he thought it wouldn’t be sufficient enough to make a difference, it would’ve remained little. But that boy became part of an epic story on a day when Jesus took his small lunch and used it to show forth God’s limitless Kingdom and infinite supply. Jesus uses inadequate people with limited resources to show forth His power, His provision, and His adequacy.

Are you feeling a little inadequate today? Remember, God can perform miracles in ways that are infinitely beyond our capacity for understanding, yet the God of this universe wants us to know that our little means so much to him. Whatever your seemingly insignificant five loaves and two fish may be; in the hands of God, they are a miracle waiting to happen. Your little can never remain little once it’s been given to Jesus.

Rethink your inadequacy as you take time to abide in His sufficiency today.

In the hands of God, your inadequacy is a miracle waiting to happen. Your little can never remain little once it’s been given to Jesus.

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