You Feed Them
Share Your Thoughts Have you ever been asked to do something… and your first thought was, “You want me to do what?” In this episode of Scattered Moments, Matt shares a story from a moment he didn’t see coming—being asked to preach on the spot, with no preparation and no clear direction. Just a Bible. A room full of people. And that quiet panic we all know too well. As his Bible fell open to the feeding of the five thousand, one line rose to the surface: “You give them something to eat.” It wa...
Have you ever been asked to do something… and your first thought was, “You want me to do what?”
In this episode of Scattered Moments, Matt shares a story from a moment he didn’t see coming—being asked to preach on the spot, with no preparation and no clear direction.
Just a Bible.
A room full of people.
And that quiet panic we all know too well.
As his Bible fell open to the feeding of the five thousand, one line rose to the surface:
“You give them something to eat.”
It wasn’t just a passage—it was a mirror.
Because life has a way of putting us in those exact moments…
Moments where the need is real, the expectation is immediate, and the resources feel… insufficient.
But what if those are the very places where Jesus meets us?
This episode is a reflection on flexibility, faith under pressure, and the surprising ways God shows up when we step forward with what little we have.
Because sometimes the call comes suddenly.
And sometimes the answer is simply…
obedience in the moment.
Welcome to Scattered Moments. On a Sunday morning in my small church, I walked into the worship center and the youth minister pulled me aside and he said Pastor Bob had a little emergency with his mom and dad in Toledo. He flew out last night and he asked me to preach, but it's been a crazy week and I'm totally gassed. Would you mind preaching? The pre-service music uh had already started and we were 30 seconds before the first song. He didn't wait for a response. He just walked up on stage to do the welcome. I was a little woozy. I had to sit down. I whispered to my wife, Darlene, I have absolutely no idea what I'm gonna do. He didn't even wait for an answer. I can speak, but I'm kind of a planner. Should I just say, we're just gonna worship and take up an offering and pray? I flopped my Bible open in the seat next to me. Jesus speaks from intentional study, not just flopping the Bible open and reading the first thing. I tried that once during a difficult day with Darlene, and the red letter verse I read that day was, Woman, why are you crying? I didn't try to work that into the situation, but this time, the first red letter words my eyes landed on were these. It's from the story of Jesus feeding the five thousand. Of course, the disciples were trying to get Jesus to make a public announcement that the multitude should go back home because the show was over and they didn't have a fish and chip stand within ten square miles of the deserted place. But Jesus, the creator of the universe, said casually to his disciples, You give them something to eat. That Sunday I saw spiritually hungry people settling in for worship, and I had the spiritual equivalent of two eggs, a box of macaroni, a can of beans, and a three-year-old can of sardines. Lots of times I've heard Jesus whisper, You give them something to eat. Why would an all-powerful God ask that of me? There are far better solutions out there. He wouldn't leave well enough alone. You give them something to eat. In these moments, I do what we all do when Jesus asks and we say yes. I start looking for scraps of something to use, things I forgot that I had, crazy ideas and risky moves that I'm hesitant to try. I offer it, he takes it, he blesses it, and amazing stuff happens. Here's the thing: what I have is not extraordinary. Quite the opposite. It's not extraordinary until he gets his hands on it. It's just how the whole thing works. He wants to involve us in the process. It's all him. We get to come along for the ride. He does this all the time. Jesus whispers to the disorganized mom, the introverted hostess, the stuttering leader, the guy with a sketchy past, the uneducated mentor, the overwhelmed father, the inexperienced coach. You give them something to eat. Perhaps because when these people succeed, there will be someone saying, if God could use that person, there must be something to this thing called gospel. And that's today's scattered moments. Until next time, take care. Notice the scattered moments and share the grace.
