Has the Lord entrusted you with the care of others?
This could look like…
- being a parent
- caring for an ailing spouse or struggling family member
- shepherding other believers in a ministry role
- or simply serving people through your daily work (whether that be in a restaurant, hospital, home or anywhere in between).
Being given opportunities like these—where we get to care for others—is an honor. But it can also be weighty at times. There are days we feel empty—like we don’t have enough to give. There are also days where we give and give until our own needs feel pushed to the side—and we wonder if they’ll ever get met again.
But John 6:10-13, which is about the feeding of the five thousand, offers us hope in such places. “Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in that place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. Jesus took the loaves, and having given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to those who were sitting down, likewise also of the fish as much as they desired. When they were filled, he said to his disciples, “Gather up the broken pieces which are left over, that nothing be lost.” So they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with broken pieces from the five barley loaves, which were left over by those who had eaten.” (WEBBE)
In this passage, we find two reminders that can lift the heaviness of care-giving and ministering.
Reminder #1: We are not the Provider—Jesus is.
I love the detailed description of how the people were fed in verse 11. “…Jesus took the loaves, and having given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to those who were sitting down, likewise also of the fish as much as they desired.”
While Jesus used the disciples’ hands to give provision to these hungry people, that provision did not originate with them. It was Jesus’ hands that stretched the fish and loaves to feed thousands. He was the Provider that day. The disciples simply passed along what they had received from Him.
This is the pattern for all Christian service—whether that service looks like caregiving behind closed doors or ministering to the public. We are not asked to be enough or to come up with enough, on our own. We are only asked to give out what we have received from Jesus.
After all, He is the One who can create provision where there was none before. He is also the One who can take our meager strength, time and fraying nerves and multiply them to meet the needs before us. And Jesus wants us to experience His all-sufficiency. I think that’s why He sometimes uses ministry opportunities to expose our own insufficiencies.
You know, when Jesus first noticed the hungry crowd in verses 5-7, He asked Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, that these may eat?” and Philip responded, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may receive a little.” Even though Jesus already knew how He was going to provide, He invited His disciples to do the math and recognize that, in themselves, they couldn’t meet the needs before them.
Maybe, when we begin to feel the weight of ministry or care-giving, Jesus is showing us the same thing. Why? So that we will look to Him (and not ourselves) for all that is needed.
We each ought to consider questions like:
- In my current care-giving or ministry role, what needs are too big for me to meet on my own?
- And how can I depend less on myself and more on Jesus, the Provider, as I minister to those needs?
When we take the needs of others to Jesus, He has a way of multiplying, blessing and providing for them—and along the way, He invites us into what He’s doing.
Reminder #2: Our needs are not forgotten by Jesus.
In verses 12-13 we read, “When they were filled, he said to his disciples, “Gather up the broken pieces which are left over, that nothing be lost.” So they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with broken pieces from the five barley loaves, which were left over by those who had eaten.”
As the disciples fed everyone else, I wonder if their own stomachs were growling. Perhaps, they worried there would be nothing left for them to eat! But Jesus had not forgotten them. Though they ate last, they ate plenty. At the end of the meal, there were twelve baskets full of leftovers—one for each disciple.
This should be an encouragement to every ministering and care-giving soul.
In seasons like the ones we’ve been talking about, your needs may come last. But they are not forgotten by God. The One who multiplies provision for the needs of others will do the same for you.
So, as you look to Jesus for the needs of those you serve, look to Him for your needs, as well. Tell Him what you need. And then trust Him with those needs, as you focus on the work He’s given you to do. Ministering may seem to take more than it gives. But Jesus has a way of giving back more than we can imagine. Who knows? He may even use the overflow of your ministry to others to fill you up, as well.
If the Lord has entrusted you with the care of others, you can know this for certain: your care has been entrusted to Him. And He—the great Provider and ultimate Caregiver—will not let you down.
This devotion is based on one of the Scriptures from my 2025 reading plan: “A Year in the Gospels” To receive a copy of the reading plan (and future reading plans), sign up for the email list below. Hope you’ll follow along! You can also learn more about my Scripture over Screentime experiment here.
Written by Paige K. Burhans
©2025 Paige K. Burhans
Scriptures taken from the World English Bible British Edition. Public Domain.
