Author: Beth Duncan

Mark 6:53 When they had crossed over, they landed at Gennesaret and anchored there. 

The people want healing. They want hope. They clamor for Jesus. Jesus understands that what He is doing takes time and intentionality as well as a solid connection to God. He knows it is exhausting and takes intentional renewal. He knows the sick will always be there. The sinners will always be there. That there will always be someone who needs a word, a touch from Him.

Mark 6:54 As soon as they got out of the boat, people recognized Jesus. 

Perhaps those are the lessons He wants to impart to the disciples in this chapter: God provides. But it takes connection and intentionality. It takes seeking prayer time and renewal. Because those who need Him will keep coming…because the hope of Jesus is a powerful force. So Jesus’s disciples have to take care of themselves and stay intentionally connected to the Father so that they can be the hands and feet of Jesus.

Mark 6:55 They ran throughout that whole region and carried the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was. 

Lord, Thank You for the lessons You provide, even when we have a difficult time understanding. Help me to be intentional about reconnecting with You and renewing Your Spirit within me. Draw me closer. Amen.

Mark 6:56 And wherever he went—into villages, towns or countryside—they placed the sick in the marketplaces. They begged him to let them touch even the edge of his cloak, and all who touched it were healed.

Have a blessed day.

Mark 6:47 Later that night, the boat was in the middle of the lake, and he was alone on land. 

One of the big things that strikes me in this passage is that even though Jesus sent the disciples ahead and stayed back to pray, He knew what was going on with them. He knew they were straining at the oars because the wind was against them. I feel certain that He knew they were afraid, which is why he went out on the lake to them.

Mark 6:48 He saw the disciples straining at the oars, because the wind was against them. Shortly before dawn he went out to them, walking on the lake. He was about to pass by them…. 

What I don’t understand is that little bit in verse 48, “He was about to pass by them….” Why was He going to pass by them? Did He need an invitation to stop? Should His presence–walking on the lake, no less–have been enough to quell their fear? He was so acutely aware of their distress that He walked out to them. I struggle with the rationale behind “He was about to pass by them….”

Mark 6:49 …but when they saw him walking on the lake, they thought he was a ghost. They cried out… 

Lord, There is so much that I don’t understand. Help me not to get lost in those things. What I know is that You love Your children fiercely, that You know what’s going on with us, that You come to us, are with us when we struggle. Be with me as I ponder the things that I don’t understand. Give me wisdom and guidance. Draw me closer to You. Amen.

Mark 6:50 …because they all saw him and were terrified. Immediately he spoke to them and said, “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” 

Have a blessed day.

Mark 6:38 “How many loaves do you have?” he asked. “Go and see.” When they found out, they said, “Five—and two fish.”

What struck me as I read today’s scripture was one tiny adjective in verse 39: green (see below). While the disciples are fretting about how in the world they are going to feed all these people, the narrator (in 31 out of 32 translations on BibleHub.com) describes the grass that Jesus directed them to have people sit on as green.

Mark 6:39 Then Jesus directed them to have all the people sit down in groups on the green grass. 

It is such a small detail, but it speaks to the goodness and provision of God. Five thousand men plus women and children have been tromping all over that grass and it’s still green? God provides. Five thousand men plus women and children and two little fishies and five loaves of bread? God provides. All those daily things that I worry and fret over? God provides.

Mark 6:40 So they sat down in groups of hundreds and fifties. 

Lord, Thank You for reminding me of your love and provision through one tiny little adjective. Just like You can keep the grass green under all those feet, just like You can feed the masses with so little, You can take care of any need, any worry, that I have. I just have to trust You with it, lay it at Your feet, leave it there. Help me, Jesus. Amen.

Mark 6:41 Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to his disciples to distribute to the people. He also divided the two fish among them all. 

Have a blessed day.

Mark 6:35 By this time it was late in the day, so his disciples came to him. “This is a remote place,” they said, “and it’s already very late. 

Sometimes I am so like the disciples, so literal, so practical, so blind. I could see myself, doing the calculations, realizing it will be time to eat soon, “Oh, we need to let them go get food. We certainly don’t have food to feed them.” And then Jesus says, ”You give them something to eat.”

Mark 6:36 Send the people away so that they can go to the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.”

I would have balked–”What in the world are we going to feed them? Do you *see* how many people there are?!?” But Jesus is teaching them a lesson–in what? Trust? Provision? His goodness? He feeds five thousand men plus women and children. I wonder what the disciples were feeling afterward. Joy? Incredulity? Relief?

Mark 6:37 But he answered, “You give them something to eat.” They said to him, “That would take more than half a year’s wages! Are we to go and spend that much on bread and give it to them to eat?”

Lord, Learning to think as You think is hard. I am concrete and practical. I tend to think in very concrete, practical ways. But You think with love, mercy, and compassion. You see a way where I see no way. Thank You for Your perception and sovereignty. Help me to follow Your lead. Amen.

Mark 6:38 “How many loaves do you have?” he asked. “Go and see.” When they found out, they said, “Five—and two fish.”

Have a blessed day.

Mark 6:31 Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.”

The introvert in me breaths a deep sigh of relief at the last sentence of verse 31. I like people. I really do, but they are exhausting. After time with lots of people, I desperately need “a quiet place” to “get some rest.”

Mark 6:32 So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place. 

But even when they go off in a boat to a solitary place, the people follow them. Jesus describes them as being “like sheep without a shepherd,” lost, wandering, afraid. He has compassion on them and He teaches them, even though He is exhausted and was on His way to get some peace and rest.

Mark 6:33 But many who saw them leaving recognized them and ran on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. 

Lord, When I am exhausted, I tend to shut down, shut out the world, withdraw. Folks who run across me during those times don’t get the best of me. Thank You for the reminder that You’ve got me, that You will give me the strength, and that I need to point people to You. Always. Help me, Jesus. Amen.

Mark 6:34 When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things.

Have a blessed day. I love you.

Mark 6:8 These were his instructions: “Take nothing for the journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in your belts. 

These verses are still on my mind. I have a trip coming up, and just thinking about everything I need to remember to pack and do is seriously stressing me out, which is ridiculous. What if I just didn’t…didn’t pack, didn’t stress, didn’t fret. What if I just went and had a good time. I could buy or borrow anything that I needed. It would be fine, and much less stressful than what I’m currently experiencing.

Mark 6:9 Wear sandals but not an extra shirt. 

Typically, when I ruminate over verses in this manner, it’s because God has something He wants me to see, realize, recognize, learn. I know that I stress too much. I know it. I know that God will provide. I know that, too. Truly. So why do I rob today of its joy? Worrying won’t add anything useful to my life.

Mark 6:10 Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you leave that town. 

Lord, Thank You for continuing to work with me on this issue of worry. I know I do it. I know I shouldn’t. It doesn’t help. It isn’t uplifting. It points no one to You. Help me lay my burdens at Your feet and leave them there. Help me to trust You. Always. Amen.

Mark 6:11 And if any place will not welcome you or listen to you, leave that place and shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.”

Have a blessed day.

Mark 6:8 These were his instructions: “Take nothing for the journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in your belts. 

I woke up this morning thinking of God’s mercies and His provision. Today’s verses speak of the same thing. Jesus sent out the 12 disciples; HOWEVER, He gave them very specific instructions: Don’t over pack. Just take what you need. Don’t even worry about food or money. I’ve got you. I will provide.

Mark 6:9 Wear sandals but not an extra shirt. 

As someone who stresses about trips long before they happen, someone who packs an extra snack just in case, someone who packs an extra outfit because you never know what might happen, I am both intrigued and terrified by Jesus’s directive. But I think it would be incredibly freeing to pack that light, to trust that completely.

Mark 6:10 Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you leave that town. 

Lord, I want the freedom that comes from You, the freedom to pack light and trust You completely for every single thing I need. *I* am the one who gets in my own way there, and I know it. Help me to trust You, even when I am afraid, which is so very often. I know You love me. I know You’ve got me. Help me, Jesus. Amen.

Mark 6:11 And if any place will not welcome you or listen to you, leave that place and shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.”

Have a blessed day.