Life’s circumstances can skew our thinking, and our reactions to the things happening around us sometimes cause us to think things must be a certain way for things to happen. Naturally speaking, there are things that don’t go together, but the Lord in His kind providence can bring the supernatural out of a naturally impossible setting. In Mark 6:31 Jesus makes an interesting statement, commanding His disciples to go into the desert to rest. From a natural perspective, that doesn’t make a lot of sense as people trying to rest in a desert are likely dying. In the desert of our lives while inhabiting a sin-cursed world, there is little to nothing this world offers in the way of repose. One of the interesting things about Christ’s statement to His disciples is that it was for them to get away from the masses and the work they were doing. It had become so busy that they didn’t even have opportunity to eat. However, the masses follow them into the desert which leads to the eventual feeding of 5,000 men plus women and children. Because this event is the only miracle of Christ that all 4 gospel accounts record, I think it behooves us today to seek rest with our Lord in the desert of life.
Time and Opportunity: One of the easiest and most often used reasons why someone doesn’t seek the gospel pastures, church kingdom, or put forth the effort of an unashamed workman studying the Scriptures is “I just don’t have the time.” In this lesson, the disciples were so busy that eating had even been put to the side. So, Christ commands this rest in the desert. Opportunity is rarely given; it is made. To have the time, we have to make the opportunity. I’m sure the work they were engaged in was still ongoing, but Christ commands them away from it for a while to be with Him. As I have grown older, life seems to speed up, culture is going faster and faster, but the rest times with Christ don’t “fall in your lap” very often. They are sought from following after His command to be with Him in a restful place. This opportunity that Christ commands is also not something the disciples would have come up with by themselves. As we mentioned above, deserts are not places people go to rest. Today, the church is not a place that people see as the place to rest. However, in these not-thought-of places, the Lord provides a place and scene that is out of this world while in this world.
Supernatural Grass: In John’s account of this story (John 6:10), we find that when Christ begins to proceed with the feeding of the multitude He commands the people to sit down. We are given a detail of what was in this desert scene, as it tells us there was much grass in the place. Deserts are not places known for grass, and certainly, much grass is something alien to desert ecology. However, in a place that the Lord brings His people, He provides not only the food for the occasion but also the suitable resting place where none should be found. Even though the Lord doesn’t owe us these kindnesses, His compassion for His people brings things to this world that are not natural to this earthly plane. The promise of the Psalmist that we have green pastures to lie down in (Psalm 23) comes in ways and places that only could come by His supernatural hand.
Multiplication by Division: As the account of this time in the desert draws to a close, each of the gospel writers tell us that the multitude was fed by a very small portion (5 barley loaves and 2 small fishes), and when the end of the scene draws nigh, there is still more left over than when they started (12 baskets full). In the physical world we live in, division never brings a greater number. Mathematically, division always makes things smaller, but the Lord’s kind hand can take something, divide it, and bring about the same effect as multiplication. It would have been a great miracle just to feed such a large group with such meager offerings, but the supernatural power in the desert brings about good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over (Luke 6:38) as He still does exceedingly abundantly above all that we could ask or think (Ephesians 3:20). One of the gracious benefits of this scene is that the Lord gives His disciples something to take back out of the desert as a reminder of their time together in the desert. When the Lord pours out blessings to us today in His kingdom, there is more left over to take with us to remind us of our time together with Him and use to our benefit and His glory while in the rat race of life.
No one likes to be in a barren and desolate situation, but may we look for and make the times to be with our Lord in this desert and thirsty land. When we come apart with Him for a while, we not only find things we would not have otherwise, but they cannot be found in natural scenes. They can only come by His powerful providence. When I see a man taken beyond himself in the preaching of the gospel, a congregation lifted above the shores of this life, and observe people in dire distress with heads held high, I’m observing a peaceful, restful time in the desert. He has promised us that when we look for Him in this way with all our heart, there is a surety of finding Him in these times (Jeremiah 29:13). May we rest together with Him and one another in the desert of our lives finding blessings upon blessings to help carry us further along in our journey.