During those days another large crowd gathered. Since they had nothing to eat, Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. If I send them home hungry, they will collapse on the way, because some of them have come a long distance.”
Mark 8:1-3
We have something to learn from this crowd. In verse two Jesus says He had compassion on them because, "they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat.” For three days, they had placed their spiritual needs ahead of their work, their food, their comfort, their farms, the regular routines of their life. Even if some of them came there seeking a miracle of physical healing, by staying a full three days and going without they showed that they valued the spiritual teaching He gave as well.
So, this crowd of people had prioritized their spiritual needs over their physical needs, and that’s what moved Jesus to have compassion on them. He was moved by the sacrifices they had made to pursue spiritual life, and He wanted to make sure He honored their sacrifice by meeting their physical needs before He sent them away.
In my own life, I feel like I’m constantly faced with the same decision. It seems like I can never easily get time to spend with the Lord. I’m always having to choose between the physical and the spiritual in my life. I’m always having to choose between Bible reading or sleep, between prayer time or TV time, between quiet time with the Lord or time to pursue one of my hobbies. It always feels like a sacrifice. It always feels like I have to carve time out of my life, like I have to sacrifice my physical needs to feed myself spiritually and pursue Jesus.
If you feel that way too, then this story is a great reminder that Jesus sees that and has compassion for that. It’s a reminder that He wants to bless you and provide for you when you choose to prioritize your spiritual needs over your physical wants and needs. When you forgo 30 minutes of sleep you really needed to spend time with the Lord, when you discipline yourself to put down the TV remote or the tablet or your cell phone and pick up God’s Word, when you fast from food or your hobbies to spend time in prayer, God sees that and is pleased by that. He has compassion for that. And I think that we can reasonably hope and expect that He will help provide for our lack of sleep or rest or food, that He will help meet our physical needs when we prioritize our spiritual needs. One well known passage of Scripture puts it this way, “seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” (Matthew 6:33)
When was the last time you put your spiritual needs first? When was the last time you prioritized your spiritual life over your physical needs and wants? Honestly, I’ve been losing that battle a lot more than I’ve been winning it lately. Seek His kingdom first. Make Him your first priority, and trust He will provide for everything else you need.
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