John 6 tells us that Jesus had gone to the mountainside, probably to get some quiet time with his disciples, when He saw a great multitude coming toward Him. Ideally, Jesus should have sent the crowd away but here He was, intending to feed five thousand hungry people.
Funnily enough, he asks Philip, "Where shall we buy bread, that these may eat?" Philip must have surely thought his master was crazy because instead of answering Jesus' question, he replies with "Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may have a little." Philip was focusing on the impossibility of what Jesus was proposing to do.
Now Andrew, who was also present, knew what Philip said was true. Yet, he comes to Jesus and says, "There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two small fish..." He knew how stupid it seemed to bring a little boy's lunch to feed five thousand people. That's probably why he added, "But what are they among so many?"
The amazing thing was that Jesus used the five loaves and two fish that Andrew brought to perform the miracle.
The Bible says in vs 6 (before Andrew could bring the little boy's lunch to Him) that Jesus already knew what He would do. Jesus knew He was going to perform a miracle to feed the multitude. He didn't need the little boy's lunch for that. Yet, He used it, making Andrew's faith a part of the miracle.
I believe even today Jesus will do the miracles He has intended to do. It's up to us whether we want to be a part of them or not. Are we holding on to the little we have because we think it is not enough for the "big miracle"? God wants us to step out in faith, present the little we have to Him and trust that He will multiply it?
There's another thing we could learn from Andrew and that is not to focus on the problem but rather on the problem solver, Jesus!
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