Living the Overflowing Life

Living the Overflowing Life

David CerulloBy David Cerullo8 Minutes

How much does God want to bless us as believers?

Some people have a limited idea as if God only wants to bless us in small ways. They live as if there are limits to what is possible through Him.

But the Bible gives us a completely different perspective. Jesus said He came that we might have life and have it “abundantly” (John 10:10).  In his translation, Charles B. Williams indicates that this literally means having life “till it overflows.” Can you think of a better promise from our Heavenly Father?

Friend, if you are facing a difficult situation today, you’re a prime candidate for a supernatural breakthrough. And there’s a great story in Matthew 14:14–21 that gives a glimpse of what it looks like to go from lack to overflowing abundance.

This passage begins with Jesus teaching an enormous crowd of people. When evening came, the disciples told Jesus that He should send the multitudes away, so they could get some food. They recognized it was a dangerous situation to have thousands of hungry people roaming the countryside.

However, Jesus shocked them by saying, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat” (v. 16).

Replying to Him, the disciples pointed out how ludicrous this was, “We have here only five loaves and two fish” (v. 17). In essence, they were saying, “Jesus, get serious. We simply don’t have enough resources to feed thousands of people. Five loaves and two fish are not adequate to meet this enormous need.”

Perhaps you are facing a situation much like this. You’re surrounded by an overwhelming need, and the resources on hand are insufficient to even make a dent. So what can you do?

This is where the story begins to get exciting — and practical as well. Instead of conceding that the circumstances were hopeless, Jesus pointed to the loaves and fish and told His bewildered followers, “Bring them here to Me” (v. 18).

You see, this is always the starting point of our miracle—when we take the resources in OUR hands and place them instead in JESUS’ hands. In effect, the loaves and fish became a SEED that Jesus took and multiplied. The Lord took their meager resources, looked up to Heaven, and blessed the loaves before breaking them and giving them back to the disciples.

Your Part in the Miracle

Notice that Jesus gave the loaves and fish BACK to the disciples. Isn’t that wonderful? The same resources they entrusted to the Lord were given back to them in the form of an abundant harvest — one that not only would meet their own needs, but also feed thousands of hungry people!

The disciples became part of the miracle as they freely distributed the loaves and fish to the crowd: “So they all ate and were filled, and they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments that remained. Now those who had eaten were about five thousand men, besides women and children” (vs. 20–21).

What a great crescendo to the story. At the beginning of the passage, the disciples didn’t have enough resources to feed the people. I’m sure they would have been thrilled if Jesus even gave them barely enough — avoiding a riot among the hungry crowd.

However, Jesus did much more than they could dream or imagine (Ephesians 3:20). They not only had enough to meet the need — they had more than enough with 12 overflowing baskets of leftovers!

I’m so grateful the God we serve is a God of overflow.  Our Heavenly Father offers to freely give us abundant forgiveness, healing, and provision.

My friend, I encourage you to read this story one more time, asking God to show you what steps you may still need to take to receive your breakthrough. Don’t worry if your resources seem totally inadequate to meet the needs around you. The key is to bring everything to Jesus. Trust Him with the seeds in your hand, and expect Him to multiply them into an overflowing harvest.

Where Are You Looking?

One of the keys to the loaves and fish miracle was that the disciples learned to look to Jesus instead of to their own resources. He is “the author and finisher of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2), and we will always be disappointed if we look to anyone or anything other than Him to be our Source.

In some ways, the world’s economic downturn we’re experiencing may be a blessing in disguise. Why? Because these difficult times are compelling many believers to reassess whether they’re truly trusting in the Lord as their provider.

It’s one thing to claim we’re trusting in God for our provision when we have a good job, lots of equity in our home, and a growing 401(k) fund for our retirement. But what happens to our faith when the whole world’s financial system is shaking and our resources seem to be drying up instead of growing?

It has never been more important for God’s people to learn the secrets of coming to Him as Jehovah Jireh — our faithful Provider — even when every human resource seems to be failing us.

The devil will try to use your circumstances to accuse God and His Word. So instead of focusing on your circumstances, fix your eyes on your God and His ability to do abundantly above and beyond what you can ask or think (Ephesians 3:20).

Your key to overflow has nothing to do with your abilities or the economic systems of this world. Your breakthrough will come from looking to the Lord and trusting Him to do what only He can do! The psalmist says this well: “Unto You I lift up my eyes, O You who dwell in the heavens” (Psalm 123:1).

The more you set your heart on the Lord of Heaven, the more you will experience the joy and peace of overflowing abundance in His presence and His provision.

God bless you!