And when it grew late, his disciples came to him and said, “This is a desolate place, and the hour is now late. 36 Send them away to go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.” 37 But he answered them, “You give them something to eat.” And they said to him, “Shall we go and buy two hundred denari worth of bread and give it to them to eat?” 38 And he said to them, “How many loaves do you have? Go and see.” And when they had found out, they said, “Five, and two fish.” 39 Then he commanded them all to sit down in groups on the green grass. 40 So they sat down in groups, by hundreds and by fifties. 41 And taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing and broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples to set before the people. And he divided the two fish among them all. 42 And they all ate and were satisfied. 43 And they took up twelve baskets full of broken pieces and of the fish. 44 And those who ate the loaves were five thousand men.
REFERENCES: MARK 6:33-44, EPHESIANS 3:20
Clay is only clay until it is placed in the hands of a potter. Much like formless clay is turned into a beautiful work of art, our small faith in the hands of God can turn into much more than what we could ever imagine. The disciples had witnessed Jesus work many miracles yet at a key moment they were still not sure how Jesus would feed five thousand. Similarly, we can start to question and ask how God will work a miracle in our lives. The disciples did question and may have even hesitated but, they still followed the instructions of Jesus. Even if we have questions, we should not allow our doubts to deter our obedience, whether it is to start a new business, go back to school, pray for a child, or simply be still and wait on him. As we trust him, we will come to know that what we have is more than enough for him to work wonders.
A little in the hands of Jesus can turn into a lot in the life of the recipient.
At times, we can let thoughts of uncertainty and fear overpower our higher calling and true purpose. We find ourselves questioning God’s plan, hindering our ability to see his miracles. But truth is, Jesus begins to perform miracles the moment we step out of our comfort zone. To clear our vision, we must silence doubt and take initiative by putting just a small amount of faith in the right place so that God can move.
With five loaves and two fish to feed thousands, Jesus used the disciples’ small faith to make the impossible possible. The disciples believed their surroundings to be desolate and they assumed the food they found was insufficient. Still, they obeyed, and moments later Jesus proved that the insufficiency was actually their ability to see that Jesus was able to do a lot with a little.
God has already mapped out your path and he knows the plans he has for you. He knows what you have is enough because he is the one who makes everything out of nothing. Do you trust that he will do what only he can do? Small faith always starts with believing Jesus paid the ultimate price to set us free from sin that kept us bound. Obedience is all it takes to make the most of what you can find. Trust that God will certainly finish the good work he began in you, for he is the all-knowing, all-powerful, and all-loving author and perfecter of our faith.
What has God told you to do, that you haven’t done yet? Challenge yourself to spend 10 minutes a day working on what God has instructed you to do.
We’re in week two of Pray First and there’s still time to join! Prayer is where intimacy with God begins—it aligns our hearts with His will and unlocks Heaven’s power in our lives.
Let’s grow closer to God together. Don’t miss this opportunity!
Join us for Pray First by texting "PRAY" to 30596.
Monday - Friday
Zoom Prayer @ 6:30AM
vouschurch.com/zoom
Monday - Saturday
IG Live @ 12:00PM
Wednesday - 12:00 - 1:00 PM
Prayer Rooms - Miami Gardens
Wednesday, January 15 - Pray First Gathering
7:00PM Pre-Hang
7:30PM Service
SoMi, Miami Gardens, Design District
For all gatherings information and resources on Pray First, please click here!
We are having baptisms this Sunday, January 19th, across all of our locations, and on the beach.
To sign up for baptisms, please click here.
Heart & Soul will be taking place on Wednesday, January 22nd. This is a night for anyone who loves VOUS with worship, community, and a stakeholders message from Pastor Rich on where we're headed in 2025.
This SZN, we will be holding Heart & Soul at VOUS City!
RSVP here to let us know which location you will be joining us at. This is a night you do not want to miss!
This month's spotlight initiative is human trafficking awareness. We aim to bring light to this critical issue by partnering with organizations working to prevent trafficking and support survivors.
We will meet at our South Miami, Design District, and Miami Gardens locations on Saturday, January 25th at 10:30am to gather and serve at an outreach throughout the city.
To sign up for an outreach at one of our locations or an Off-Site outreach, please click here.
VOUS SoMi
8:45AM / 10:30AM / 12:30PM / 6PM
VOUS City
10:30AM / 12:30PM / 6PM
VOUS Miami Gardens
10:30AM / 12:30PM
VOUS Design District
10:30AM / 12:30PM
Church Online
10AM / 5PM Español
Growth Track
After every service or join online at vouschurch.com/growthtrack