Editor’s Note: The following is an adapted excerpt from “The Man for the Day: Answering the Call to Godly Manhood” (B&H Publishing).
I have found so much encouragement over the years from the story of Jesus feeding the five thousand as recorded in John 6. The ultimate point of that story is that Jesus is the Bread of Life. But on another level, this story is about Jesus teaching something to the disciples.
Jesus sees the crowd and knows they need something to eat. He then turns to Philip and says, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?” (v. 5 ESV). It’s such a strange question because it’s such a human impossibility. Andrew finds one kid with a small lunch, but there is no human way it can feed that many people.
The best part of the story is when it says, “He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he would do” (v. 6 ESV). In other words, before Jesus asked Philip about feeding the people, and before Andrew tried to steal a kid’s lunch, Jesus already knew what He was going to do. So, why even bother the disciples? It was a test.
Jesus intentionally put His disciples in an overwhelming situation to test them; specifically, to test their faith. Why would He do this? Because Jesus knew the way in which He was going to use them after He was gone. He knew what He was going to do through them. But for Jesus to do that work through them, He must first do a work in them. And this is exactly what He was doing.
The principle is this: Our overwhelming situations are always God’s gracious preparation. And not just the big ones. Not just the burned-down houses and cancer diagnoses. Every overwhelming situation in our lives, no matter how big or how small, is a part of God’s gracious preparation.
Sometimes the preparation is wonderful. Sometimes the preparation is painful. But one thing is for sure: We must trust God to do in us what He needs to do in order to do through us what He wants to do. God must prepare us to be the man for the day.
The winding road of preparation
One of the great benefits of reading a story like Elijah’s is being able to read his entire story in just a few moments.
In a sense, we can see Elijah’s life like God sees ours. We see the purpose behind all the things that seemed so confusing at the moment for Elijah. We can turn the page and see how God used his three years of hiding to prepare him. But when we stop and think about Elijah, we realize how hard those three years must have been. Three years is a long time to wait for God to tell you what’s next.
But this is how God works. He sees life as a whole. He sees the start and the finish. He knows right now all the things He wants to accomplish through you. He knows the plans and purposes for your life (Jeremiah 29:11). And in His perfect sovereignty, God is mapping out the course of your life with perfect love and perfect wisdom to fulfill the purposes He has for you.
You just have to trust Him. You have to trust that every circumstance is a part of God’s good preparation to make you the man for the day.
I love the way John Piper explains this often difficult journey or preparation in “A Sweet and Bitter Providence”:
Life is not a straight line leading from one blessing to the next and then finally to heaven. Life is a winding and troubled road. Switchback after switchback. And the point of biblical stories like Joseph and Job and Esther and Ruth is to help us feel in our bones (not just know in our heads) that God is for us in all these strange turns. God is not just showing up after the trouble and cleaning it up. He is plotting the course and managing the troubles with far-reaching purposes for our good and for the glory of Jesus Christ.
The man for the day
The man for the day knows that God works from the inside out. He knows that in order for God to do something through us, He must first do something in us.
The man for the day follows the leadership of the Holy Spirit when he prompts him to discipline himself for the purpose of Godliness. He makes sacrifices in order to become the man God wants him to be.
The man for the day trusts the hard things of life as God’s necessary preparation. Instead of resenting or ignoring the difficult seasons of life, he willingly embraces them as a gift from a loving and sovereign God.
The man for the day welcomes the work of God’s Spirit in molding him and making him a useful man.
Be the man for the day!
J. Josh Smith is senior pastor of Prince Avenue Baptist Church in Bogart, Georgia, and author of “The Man for the Day” and “The Titus Ten” book and Bible study.
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